V \ I. PAGE 156. BABN SWALLOW. CLIFF SWALLOW. TKEE SWALLOW. BANK SWALLOW. POPULAR EDITION IN COLORS BIRD-LIFE A GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF OUR COMMON BIRDS BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN CURATOR OF ORNITHOLOGY, AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY J FELLOW OF THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION AUTHOR OF "HANDBOOK OF BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA," "BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA," "CAMPS AND CRUISES OF AN ORNITHOLOGIST," ETC. WITH SEVENTY-FIVE FULL-PAGE COLORED PLATES AFTER DRA VSINGS BY ERNEST THOMPSON SETON NEW YORK AND LONDON D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1919 i TO DR. J. A. ALLEN THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED AS A TOKEN OP RESPECT AND AFFECTION FROM ONE WHO FOR NINE YEARS HAS WORKED AT HIS BIDE. COPYRIGHT, 1897, 1899, 1901, BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. Printed in the United States of America PEEFACE. How unusual it is to meet any one who can correctly name a dozen of our birds ! One may live in the country and still know only two or three of the one hundred and fifty or more kinds of birds that may be found during the year. Nevertheless, these gay, restless creatures, both by voice and action, constantly invite our attention, and they are far too interesting and beautiful to be ignored. No one to whom Nature appeals should be without some knowledge of these, the most attractive of her animate forms. The scientific results to be derived from the study of birds are fully realized by the naturalist. But there are other results equally important. I would have every one know of them : results that add to our pleasure in field and wood, and give fresh interest to walks that before were eventless ; that quicken both ear and eye, making us hear and see where before we were deaf and blind. Then, to our surprise, we shall discover that the forests and pastures we have known all our lives are tenanted by countless feathered inhabitants whose companionship will prove a source of endless enjoyment. I would enter a special plea for the study of birds in the schools ; for the more general introduction of ornithology in natural -history courses. Frogs and cray- fish serve an excellent purpose, but we may not en- counter either of them after leaving the laboratory ; whereas birds not only offer excellent opportunities for iii iv PREFACE. study, but are always about us, and even a slight famil- iarity with them will be of value long after school days are over. Popular interest must precede the desire for purely technical knowledge. The following pages are not ad- dressed to past masters in ornithology, but to those who desire a general knowledge of bird-life and some ac-i quaintance with our commoner birds. The opening chapters of this book briefly define the bird, its place in Nature and its relation to man, and outline the leading facts in its life-history. The concluding chapters pre- sent the portraits, names, and addresses of upward of one hundred familiar birds of eastern North America, with such information concerning their comings and goings as will lead, I trust, to their being found at home. After this introduction the student may be left on the threshold, with the assurance that his entrance to the innermost circles of bird-life depends entirely on his own patience and enthusiasm. FRANK M. CHAPMAN. AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, NEW YORK CITY, January, 1897. PREFACE TO POPULAR COLORED EDITION. WITHOUT question the simplest and most certain way in which to become acquainted with our birds is to exam- ine the bird itself. Unfortunately for the student, wild birds seem averse to this proceeding, while comparatively few people have access to an ornithological collection. For purposes of identification, therefore, the best substi- tute for the bird is an accurate plate which shall ade- quately portray both the form and color of its subject. The fact that Mr. Thompson Seton's drawings in the uncolored edition of "Bird-Life" have been conceded to excel in truth and beauty any series of black-and-white bird portraits ever published in this country gives reason, therefore, for the belief that bird lovers will doubly wel- come a work in which our commoner birds are repre- sented not only in natural attitudes, but in natural colors as well. Photographic bromide copies of the original "Bird-Life" drawings have been colored by an expert under the author's supervision, and are here reproduced by lithography. In selecting the one hundred species to be figured in this book it has been deemed advisable to omit those, vi PREFACE TO POPULAR COLORED EDITION. like the Crow and Robin, with which every one is familiar, as well as those, like the Cardinal and Scarlet Tanager, whose identity can be ascertained beyond question by descriptions, and to introduce in their places birds with which beginners are less apt to be familiar, thereby increasing the educational value of the illustrations. F. M. C. AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, March, 1901. CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGB I. THE BIRD, ITS PLACE IN NATURE AND RELATION TO MAN . 1 Place in Nature Relation to man. II. THE LIVING BIRD 14 Factors of evolution The wing, its form and uses The tail, its form and uses The foot, its form and uses The bill, its form and uses. III. COLORS OP BIRDS .86 Color and age Color and season The molt Color and food Color and climate Color and haunt and habit Color and sex. IV. THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS 48 Extent of migration Times of migration Manner of migration Origin of migration. V. THE VOICE OP BIRDS 62 Song Call-notes. VI. THE NESTING SEASON 64 Time of nesting Mating The nest The eggs The young. VII. HOW TO IDENTIFY BIRDS .... 71 A bird's biography. FIELD KEY TO OUR COMMON LAND BIRDS . . . . 75 vii viii CONTENTS. PAGl THE WATER BIRDS 84 Diving Birds Long-winged Swimmers Tube-nosed Swim- mers Lamellirostral Swimmers Herons, Storks, Ibises, etc. Cranes, Rails, etc. Shore Birds. THE LAND BIRDS 100 Gallinaceous Birds Pigeons and Doves Birds of Prey Cuckoos, Kingfishers, etc. Woodpeckers Goatsuckers, Swifts, and Hummingbirds Perching Birds. APPENDIX. LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS. FULL-PAGE PLATES. FACINO FULTE PAGE I. Barn, Cliff, Bank, and Tree Swallows Frontispiece II. Pied-billed Grebe 3 III. Loon 6 IV. Herring Gull; Petrels 10 V. Wood Duck; Pintails; Mallards; Green- winged Teal ; Blue-winged Teal ; Canada Geese . . 14 VI. Little Green Heron; Black-crowned Night Heron; Great Blue Heron 18 VII. American Bittern ; Sora 22 VIII. American Coot; Clapper Rail 26 IX. Wilson's Snipe 30 X. Common Tern; Semipalmated Sandpiper; Semipal- mated Plover 34 XI. Spotted Sandpiper ; Killdeer 38 XII. Ruffed Grouse 42 XIII. Mourning Dove 46 XIV. Red-shouldered Hawk 50 XV. Marsh Hawk 62 XVI. Sparrow Hawk . . . . . . . .54 - XVII. Sharp-shinned Hawk 56 XVIII. American Osprey 58 XIX. Short-eared Owl 60 XX. Screech Owl 62 XXI. Barred Owl 64 XXII. Yellow-billed Cuckoo 66 XXIII. Belted Kingfisher 68 XXIV. Downy Woodpecker 70 XXV. Red-headed Woodpecker 84 " XXVI. Flicker 86 XXVII. Nighthawk; Whip-poor-will 88 ix 3t LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PACING PLATE PAGE XXVIII. Chimney Swift 90 XXIX. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 92 XXX. Kingbird 94 XXXI. Crested Flycatcher 96 - XXXII. Phoebe 98 XXXIII. Wood Pewee 100 XXXIV. Horned Lark 102 XXXV. Baltimore Oriole 104 XXXVI. Orchard Oriole 106 XXXVII. Purple Grackle 108 XXXVIII. Bobolink 110 - XXXIX. Meadowlark . . . . . . . .112 XL. Cowbird 114 - XLL Song Sparrow 116 XLII. Swamp Sparrow 118 XLIII. Field Sparrow 120 XLIV. Vesper Sparrow 122 XL V. Chipping Sparrow 124 -XLVL White-throated Sparrow 126 XL VII. Fox Sparrow 128 - XLVIIL Junco 130 XLIX. Tree Sparrow 132 L. Redpoll; Snowflake 134 LI. American Crossbill ; Pine Grosbeak .... 136 LIL American Goldfinch 138 LIIL Purple Finch 140 LIV. Rose-breasted Grosbeak 142 -LV. Towhee 144 LVI. Dickcissel 146 LVIL Cedar Waxwing 148 LVIIL Northern Shrike 150 LIX. Red-eyed Vireo ; Yellow-throated Vireo . . .152 LX. Black and White Warbler 154 LXL Myrtle Warbler ; Black-throated Green Warbler . 156 LXIL Redstart 158 LXIII. Oven-bird 160 LXIV. Maryland Yellow-throat 162 LXV. Yellow-breasted Chat . . . . . .164 LXVL Mockingbird 166 LXVIL Brown Thrasher 168 LXVIIL House Wren 170 LXIX. Long-billed Marsh Wren 172 LXX. Brown Creeper ; Chickadee 174 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xi FACING PLATB LXXI. Red-breasted Nuthatch ; White-breasted Nuthatch 176 LXXII. Golden-crowned Kinglet ; Ruby-crowned Kinglet . 178 LXXIIL Veery .......... 180 LXXIV. Wood Thrush ........ 182 LXXV. Hermit Thrush . , 184 FIGURES IN THE TEXT. no. PAOB 1. Restoration of the Archaeopteryx, a toothed, reptilelike bird of the Jurassic period 3 2. End of spearlike tongue of Pileated Woodpecker . . .14 3. Tip of tail of (a) Downy Woodpecker, (b) Brown Creeper, to show the pointed shape in tails of creeping birds of different families 16 4. Young Hoatzin, showing use of hooked fingers in climbing . 17 5. Short, rounded wing and large foot of Little Black Rail, a ter- restrial bird 18 6. Long, pointed wing and small foot of Tree Swallow, an aerial bird 18 7. Frigate-bird 19 8. Great Auk, showing relatively small wing . . . .21 9. Wing of Woodcock, showing three outer attenuate feathers . 24 10. Jacana, showing spurred wing and elongated toes . .24 11. Tail-feathers of Motmot (Momotus subrufescens), showing newly grown feathers and results of self-inflicted mutilation . 26 12. Lobed foot of Coot (Fulica americana\ a swimming bird of the Rail family 27 13. Lobed foot of a Phalarope (CrymopJiilus fulicarius), a swim- ming bird of the Snipe family 27 14. Flamingo, showing relative length of legs and neck in a wad- ing bird 28 15. Foot of Fish Hawk, showing large claws and spicules on under surface of toes 29 16. Naked toes of Ruffed Grouse in summer ; fringed toes of Ruffed Grouse in winter 29 17. Decurved bill of Sickle-bill Hummingbird . . . .31 18. Serrate bill of Merganser, a fish-eating bird . . . .32 19. Probelike bill of Woodcock, showing extent to which upper mandible can be moved 32 20. Recurved bill of Avocet 32 31. Bill of Spoonbill Sandpiper 33 xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FIG. PAGE 22. Curved bill of female, straight bill of male Huia-bird . . 33 23. Feathers from back of Snowflake, showing seasonal changes in form and color due to wearing off of tips . . . .38 24. Eggs of (a) Spotted Sandpiper and (6) Catbird, to show differ- ence in size of eggs of praecocial and altricial birds of same size 68 25. Topography of a bird. * . 74 BIKD-LIFE. CHAPTEK I. THE BIRD: ITS PLACE IN NATURE AND RELATION TO MAN. The Bird's Place m Nature.* About thirteen thousand species of birds are known to science. The structure of many of these has been carefully studied, and all have been classified, at least provisionally. Taken as a whole, the class Aves, in which all birds are placed, is more clearly defined than any other group of the higher animals. That is, the most unlike birds are more closely allied than are the extremes among mam- mals, fishes, or reptiles, and all living birds possess the distinctive characters of their class. When compared with other animals, birds are found to occupy second place in the scale of life. They stand between mammals and reptiles, and are more closely re- lated to the latter than to the former. In fact, certain extinct birds so clearly connect living birds with rep- tiles, that these two classes are sometimes placed in one group the Sauropsida. * On the structure of birds read Coues's Key to North American Birds, Part II (Estes & Lauriat); Headley, The Structure and Life of Birds ; Newton's Dictionary of Birds articles. Anatomy of Birds and Fossil Birds ; Martin and Moale's Handbook of Vertebrate Dissection, Part II, How to Dissect a Bird; Shufeldt's Myology of the Raven (Macmillan Co.). 1 OF BIRDS. The characters that distinguish birds from mammals on the one hand, and from reptiles on the other, are more apparent than real. Thus flight, the most striking of a bird's gifts, is shared by bats among mammals. Egg-lay- ing is the habit of most reptiles and of three mammals (the Australian duckbill and the echidnas). But incuba- tion by one or both of the parents is peculiar to birds, though the python is said to coil on its eggs. Birds breathe more rapidly than either mammals or reptiles, and their pneumaticity, or power of inflating numerous air-sacs and even certain bones, is unique. The temperature of birds ranges from 100 to 112, while in mammals it reaches 98 to 100, and in the com- paratively cold-blooded reptiles it averages only 40. The skull in mammals articulates with the last verte- bra (atlas) by two condyles or balls ; in birds and reptiles by only one. In mammals and birds the heart has four chambers ; in reptiles it has but three. Mammals and reptiles both have teeth, a character possessed by no existing bird; but fossil birds appar- ently prove that early in the development of the class all birds had teeth. Thus we might continue the comparison, finding that birds have no universal peculiarities of structure which are not present in some degree in either mammals or reptiles, until we come to their external covering. The reptile is scaled, and so is the fish ; the mammal is haired, and so are some insects ; but birds alone possess feathers. They are worn by every bird a fit clothing for a body which is a marvelous combination of beauty, lightness, and strength. There is good evidence for the belief that birds have descended from reptilian ancestors. This evidence con- sists of the remains of fossil birds, some of which show marked reptilian characters and, as just said, are toothed. PLATE II. PAGE 84. PIED-BILLED GBEBE. Length, 13-50 inches. Summer plumage, upper parts blackish brown ; throat and spot on bill black ; fore neck brownish, rest of under parts grayish white. Winter plumage, similar, but without black on throat or bill. ANCESTORS OF BIRDS. 3 It is unnecessary to discuss here the relationships of the birdlike reptiles, but, as the most convincing argument in support of the theory of the reptilian descent of birds, I present a restoration of the Archseopteryx, the earliest known progenitor of the class Aves. This restoration is FIG. 1. Kestoration of the Archaeopteryx, a toothed, reptilelike bird of the Jurassic period. (About l / 6 natural size.) based on an examination of previous restorations in con- nection with a study of the excellent plates which have been published of the fossils themselves.* Two speci- mens have been discovered ; one being now in the British Museum, the other in the Berlin Museum. They were both found in the lithographic slates of Solenhofen, in Bavaria, a formation of the Jurassic period, and, together, furnish the more important details of the structure of this reptilelike bird. This restoration, therefore, while doubtless inaccurate * For recent papers on the Archseopteryx see Natural Science (Macmillan Co.), vols. v-viii. 4 DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS. in minor points, is still near enough to the truth to give a correct idea of this extraordinary bird's appearance. The Archaeopteryx was about the size of a Crow. Its long, feathered tail is supposed to have acted as an aero- plane, assisting in the support of the bird. while it was in the air, but its power of flight was doubtless limited. It was arboreal and probably never descended to the earth, but climbed about the branches of trees, using its large, hooked fingers in passing from limb to limb. The wanderings of this almost quadrupedal creature must necessarily have been limited, but its winged de- scendants of to-day are more generally distributed than are any other animals.* They roam the earth from pole to pole ; they are equally at home on a wave-washed coral reef or in an arid desert, amid arctic snows or in the shades of a tropical forest. This is due not alone to their powers of flight but to their adaptability to vary- ing conditions of life. Although, as I have said, birds are more closely related among themselves than are the members of either of the other higher groups of animals, and all birds agree in possessing the more important distinguishing characters of their class, yet they show a wide range of variation in structure. This, in most instances, is closely related to habits, * On the distribution of animals read Allen, The Geographical Distribution of North American Mammals, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, New York city, iv, 1892, pp. 199-244; four maps. Allen, The Geographical Origin and Distribution of North American Birds considered in Relation to Faunal Areas of North America, The Auk (New York city), x, 1893, pp. 97-150; two maps. Merriam, The Geographic Distribution of Life in North America, with Special Reference to Mammalia, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, vii, 1892, pp. 1-64; one map. Merriam, Laws of Tem- perature Control of the Geographic Distribution of Terrestrial Ani- mals and Plants, National Geographic Magazine (Washington), vi, 1894, pp. 229-238 ; three maps. RELATION OF BIRDS TO MAN. 5 which in birds are doubtless more varied than in any of the other higher animals. Some birds, like Penguins, are so aquatic that they are practically helpless on land. Their wings are too small to support them in the air, but they fly under water with great rapidity, and might be termed feathered porpoises. Others, like the Ostrich, are terrestrial, and can neither fly nor swim. Others still, like the Frigate Birds, are aerial. Their small feet are of use only in perching, and their home is in the air. If now we should compare specimens of Penguins, Ostriches, and Frigate-birds with each other, and with such widely different forms as Hummingbirds, Wood- peckers, Parrots, and others, we would realize still more clearly the remarkable amount of variation shown by birds. This great difference in form is accompanied by a corresponding variation in habit, making possible, as before remarked, the wide distribution of birds, which, together with their size and abundance, renders them of incalculable importance to man. Their economic value, however, may be more properly spoken of under The Relation of Birds to Man. The relation of birds to man is threefold the scientific, the economic, and the aesthetic. No animals form more profitable subjects for the scientist than birds. The embryologist, the morphol- ogist, and the systematist, the philosophic naturalist and the psychologist, all may find in them exhaustless mate- rial for study. It is not my purpose, however, to speak here of the science of ornithology. Let us learn some- thing of the bird in its haunts before taking it to the laboratory. The living bird can not fail to attract us; the dead bird voiceless, motionless we will leave for future dissection. The economic value of birds to man lies in the service they render in preventing the undue increase of insects, 6 ECONOMIC VALUE OF BIRDS. in devouring small rodents, in destroying the seeds of harmful plants, and in acting as scavengers. Leading entomologists estimate that insects cause an annual loss of at least two hundred million dollars to the agricultural interests of the United States. The state- ment seems incredible, but is based upon reliable sta- tistics. This, of course, does not include the damage done to ornamental shrubbery, shade and forest trees. But if insects are the natural enemies of vegetation, birds are the natural enemies of insects. Consider for a mo- ment what the birds are doing for us any summer day, when insects are so abundant that the hum of their united voices becomes an almost inherent part of the atmosphere. In the air Swallows and Swifts are coursing rapidly to and fro, ever in pursuit of the insects which constitute their sole food. When they retire, the Nighthawks and Whip-poor-wills will take up the chase, catching moths and other nocturnal insects which would escape day -flying birds. The Flycatchers lie in wait, darting from ambush at passing prey, and with a suggestive click of the bill returning to their post. The Warblers, light, active crea- tures, flutter about the terminal foliage, and with almost the skill of a Hummingbird pick insects from leaf or blossom. The Yireos patiently explore the under sides of leaves and odd nooks and corners to see that no skulker escapes. The Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, and Creepers attend to the tree trunks and limbs, examining carefully each inch of bark for insects' eggs and larvae, or exca- vating for the ants and borers they hear at work within. On the ground the hunt is continued by the Thrushes, Sparrows, and other birds, who feed upon the innumer- able forms of terrestrial insects. Few places in which insects exist are neglected ; even some species which pass their earlier stages or entire lives in the water are preyed upon by aquatic birds, PI-ATE in. PAOE 85. LOON. Length, 32-00 inches. Summer plumage, upper parts and fore neck black and white; breast and belly white. Winter plumage, upper parts dark grayish; under parts white. ECONOMIC VALUE OF BIRDS. 7 Birds digest their food so rapidly, that it is difficult to estimate from the contents of a bird's stomach at a given time how much it eats during the day. The stomach of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, shot at six o'clock in the morning, contained the partially digested remains of forty-three tent caterpillars, but how many it would have eaten be- fore night no one can say. Mr. E. H. Forbush, Ornithologist of the Board of Agriculture of Massachusetts, states that the stomachs of four Chickadees contained one thousand and twenty- eight eggs of the cankerworm. The stomachs of four other birds of the same species contained about six hundred eggs and one hundred and five female moths of the cankerworm. The average number of eggs found in twenty of these moths was one hundred and eighty-five ; and as it is estimated that a Chickadee may eat thirty female cankerworm moths per day during the twenty -five days which these moths crawl up trees, it follows that in this period each Chickadee would de- stroy one hundred and thirty-eight thousand seven hun- dred and fifty eggs of this noxious insect. Professor Forbes, Director of the Illinois State Lab- oratory of Natural History, found one hundred and seventy-five larvae of Bilio a fly which in the larval stage feeds on the roots of grass in the stomach of a single Robin, and the intestine contained probably as many more. Many additional cases could be cited, showing the intimate relation of birds to insect-life, and emphasizing the necessity of protecting and encouraging these little, appreciated allies of the agriculturist. The service rendered man by birds in killing the small rodents so destructive to crops is performed by Hawks and Owls birds the uninformed farmer con- siders his enemies. The truth is that, with two excep- 8 ECONOMIC VALUE OF BIRDS. tions, the Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawk, all our com- moner Hawks and Owls are beneficial. In his exhaust- ive study of the foods of these birds Dr. A. K. Fisher, Assistant Ornithologist of the United States Department of Agriculture, has found that ninety per cent of the food of the Red-shouldered Hawk, commonly called " Chicken Hawk " or " Hen Hawk," consists of injurious mammals and insects, while two hundred castings of the Barn Owl contained the skulls of four hundred and fifty- four small mammals, no less than two hundred and twenty- five of these being skulls of the destructive field or meadow mouse. Still, these birds are not only not protected, but in some States a price is actually set upon their heads ! Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Ornithologist and Mammalogist of the United States Department of. Agriculture, has estimated that in offering a bounty on Hawks and Owls, which resulted in the killing of over one hundred thou- sand of these birds, the State of Pennsylvania sustained a loss of nearly four million dollars in one year and a half ! As destroyers of the seeds of harmful plants, the good done by birds can not be overestimated. From late fall to early spring, seeds form the only food of many birds, and every keeper of cage-birds can realize how many a bird may eat in a day. Thus, while the Chickadees, Nut- hatches, "Woodpeckers, and some other winter birds are ridding the trees of myriads of insects' eggs and larvae, the granivorous birds are reaping a crop of seeds which, if left to germinate, would cause a heavy loss to our agri- cultural interests. As scavengers we understand that certain birds are of value to us, and therefore we protect them. Thus the Vultures or Buzzards of the South are protected both by law and public sentiment, and as a result they are not only exceedingly abundant, but remarkably tame. But ECONOMIC VALUE OF BIRDS. 9 we do not realize that Gulls and some other water birds are also beneficial as scavengers in eating refuse which, if left floating on the water, would often be cast ashore to decay. Dr. George F. Gaumer, of Yucatan, tells me that the killing of immense numbers of Herons and other littoral birds in Yucatan has been followed by an increase in human mortality among the inhabitants of the coast, which he is assured is a direct result of the destruction of birds that formerly assisted in keeping the beaches and bayous free from decaying animal matter. Lack of space forbids an adequate treatment of this subject, but reference to the works and papers mentioned below* will support the statement that, if we were de- prived of the services of birds, the earth would soon become uninhabitable. Nevertheless, the feathered protectors of our farms and gardens, plains and forests, require so little encour- agement from us indeed, ask only tolerance that we accept their services much as we do the air we breathe. We may be in debt to them past reckoning, and still be unaware of their existence. But to appreciate the beauty of form and plumage of * Notes on the Nature of the Food of the Birds of Nebraska, by S. Aughey ; First Annual Report of the United States Entomological Commission for the Year 1877, Appendix ii, pp. 13-62. The Food of Birds, by S. A. Forbes ; Bulletin No. 3, Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, 1880, pp. 80-148. The Regulative Action of Birds upon Insect Oscillations, by S. A. Forbes, ibid., Bulletin No. 6, 1883, pp. 3-32. Economic Relations of Wisconsin Birds, by F. H. King ; Wisconsin Geological Survey, .vol. i, 1882, pp. 441-610. Report on the Birds of Pennsylvania, with Special Reference to the Food Habits, based on over Four Thousand Stomach Examinations, by B. H. War- ren ; Harrisburg, E. K. Meyers, State Printer, large 8vo, pp. 434, plates 100. The English Sparrow in North America, especially in its Rela- tion to Agriculture, prepared under the Direction of C. Hart Merriam, by Walter B. Barrows; Bulletin No. 1, Division of Economic Orni- thology and Mammalogy of the United States Department of Agricul- 10 ESTHETIC RELATIONS OF BIRDS. birds, their grace of motion and musical powers, we must know them. Then, too, we will be attracted by their high mental development, or what I have elsewhere spoken of as "their human attributes. Man exhibits hardly a trait which he will not find reflected in the life of a bird. Love, hate; courage, fear; anger, pleasure; vanity, modesty ; virtue, vice ; constancy, fickleness ; gen- erosity, selfishness; wit, curiosity, memory, reason we may find them alt exhibited in the lives of birds. Birds have thus become symbolic of certain human character- istics, and the more common species are so interwoven in our art and literature that by name at least they are known to all of us." The sight of a bird or the sound of its voice is at all times an event of such significance to me, a source of such unfailing pleasure, that when I go afield with those to whom birds are strangers, I am deeply impressed by the comparative barrenness of their world, for they live in ignorance of the great store of enjoyment which might be theirs for the asking. I count each day memorable that brought me a new friend among the birds. It was an event to be recorded in detail. A creature which, up to that moment, existed ture, 1889. The Hawks and Owls of the United States in their Rela- tion to Agriculture, prepared under the Direction of C. Hart Mer- riam, by A. K. Fisher; Bulletin No. 3, ibid., 1893. The Common Crow of the United States, by Walter B. Barrows and E. A. Schwarz; Bulletin No. 6, ibid., 1895. Preliminary Report on the Food of Woodpeckers, by F. E. L. Beal ; Bulletin No. 7, ibid., 1895. (See also other papers on the food of birds in the Annual Report and Year- book of the United States Department of Agriculture.) Birds as Protectors of Orchards, by E. H. Forbush ; Bulletin No. 3, Massachu- setts State Board of Agriculture, 1895, pp. 20-32. The Crow in Mas- sachusetts, by E. H. Forbush; Bulletin No. 4, ibid., 1896. How Birds affect the Farm and Garden, by Florence A. Merriam; re- printed from " Forest and Stream," 1896, 16mo, pp. 31. Price, 5 cents. PLATE IV. HERRING GULL. PAGES 86, 88. Length, 24*00 inches. Adult, back and wings pearl-gray ; end of pri- maries marked with black; rest of plumage white. Young^ dark gray- ish, primaries and tail brownish black. PETRELS. Length, 7-50 inches. Black, upper tail-coverts white. AESTHETIC RELATIONS OF BIRDS. 1J for me only as a name, now became an inhabitant of my woods, a part of my life. With what a new interest I got down my books again, eagerly reading every item concerning this new friend ; its travels, habits, and notes ; comparing the observations of others with what were now my own ! The study of birds is not restricted to any special sea- son. Some species are always with us. Long after the leaves have fallen and the fields are bare and brown, when insect voices are hushed, and even some mammals are sleeping their winter sleep, the cheery Juncos flit about our doorstep, the White-throats twitter cozily from the evergreens, Tree Sparrows chatter gayly over their breakfast of seeds, and Crows are calling from the woods. Birds are the only living creatures to be seen ; what a sense of companionship their presence gives ; how deso- late the earth would seem without them ! The ease with which we may become familiar with these feathered neighbors of ours robs ignorance of all excuses. Once aware of their existence, and we shall see a bird in every bush and find the heavens their pathway. One moment we may admire their beauty of plumage, the next marvel at the ease and grace with which they dash by us or circle high overhead. But birds will appeal to us most strongly through their songs. When your ears are attuned to the music of birds, your world will be transformed. Birds' songs are the most eloquent of Nature's voices : the gay carol of the Grosbeak in the morning, the dreamy, midday call of the Pewee, the vesper hymn of the Thrush, the clang- ing of Geese in the springtime, the farewell of the Blue- bird in the fall how clearly each one expresses the senti- ment of the hour or season ! Having learned a bird's language, you experience an increased feeling of comradeship with it. You may even 12 ESTHETIC RELATIONS OF BIRDS. share its emotions as you learn the significance of its notes. No one can listen to the song of the Mockingbird without being in some way affected ; but in how many hearts does the tink of the night-flying Bobolink find a response? I never hear it without wishing the brave little traveler Godspeed on his long journey. As time passes you will find that the songs of birds bring a constantly increasing pleasure. This is the result of association. The places and people that make our world are ever changing ; the present slips from us with growing rapidity, but the birds are ever with us. The Kobin singing so cheerily outside my window sings not for himself alone, but for hundreds of Robins I have known at other times and places. His song recalls a March evening, warm with the promise of spring ; May mornings, when all the world seemed to ring with the voices of birds ; June days, when cherries were ripening ; the winter sunlit forests of Florida, and even the snow- capped summit of glorious Popocatepetl. And so it is with other birds. We may, it is true, have known them for years, but they have not changed, and their familiar notes and appearance encourage the pleasant self-delusion that we too are the same. The slender saplings of earlier years now give wide- spreading shade, the scrubby pasture lot has become a dense woodland. Boyhood's friends are boys no longer, and, worst of all, there has appeared another generation of boys whose presence is discouraging proof that for us youth has past. Then some May morning we hear the Wood Thrush sing. Has he, too, changed ? Not one note, and as his silvery voice rings through the woods we are young again. No fountain of youth could be more potent. A hundred incidents of the long ago be- come as real as those of yesterday. And here we have the secret of youth in age which every venerable natural- ESTHETIC RELATIONS OF BIRDS. 13 1st I have ever met has convincingly illustrated. I could name nearly a dozen, living and dead, whom it has been my valued privilege to know. All had passed the allotted threescore and ten, and some were over fourscore. The friends and associates of their earlier days had passed away, and one might imagine that they had no interest in life and were simply waiting for the end. But these veterans were old in years only. Their hearts were young. The earth was fair; plants stil] bloomed, and birds sang for them. There was no idle waiting here ; the days were all too short. With what boyish ardor they told of some recent discovery ; what inspiration there was in their enthusiasm ! So I say to you, if you would reap the purest pleas- ures of youth, manhood, and old age, go to the birds and through them be brought within the ennobling influences of Nature. CHAPTER II. THE LIVING BIRD. Factors of Evolution. If while in the fields we ob- serve birds with an appreciative eye, we shall soon be impressed with the great diversity shown in their struc- ture and habits. The Fish Hawk plunges from the air into the water and grasps its prey with merciless talons. The Hummingbird daintily probes a flower. The Wood- pecker climbs an upright trunk, props itself with its stiff, pointed tail-feathers, while with its chisel-shaped bill it excavates a grub and then impales it with its spearlike tongue. These birds tell us a wonderful story FIG. 2. End of spearlike tongue of Pileated Woodpecker. (Much enlarged.) of adaptation to the conditions of life, and, knowing that they have descended from a common ancestor, we ask, " Why do they now differ so widely from one another ? " Biologists the world over are trying to satisfactorily answer this question, and it is impossible for me to even mention here all the theories which they have advanced. However, some knowledge of the most im- portant ones is essential if you would study the relation between the bird and its haunts and habits. The Dar- win-Wallace theory of Natural Selection, in more or less 14 PLATE V. 4 5 PAGE 1 WOOD DUCK. 4 GREEN-WINGED TEAL. 2 PINTAIL. 6 BLUE-WINGED TEAL. 3 MALLARD. 6 CANADA GEESE. EVOLUTION OF BIRDS. 15 modified forms, is accepted by most naturalists. As originally presented, it assumed that the continued exist- ence of any animal depended upon its adaptation to its manner of Kfe. Among a large number of individuals there is much variation in size, form, and color. Some of these variations might prove favorable, others unfa- vorable. Those which were favorable would give to the individual possessing them an advantage over its fellows, and, by what is termed Natural Selection, it would be preserved and its favorable characters transmitted to its descendants. But the less fortunate individuals, which lacked the favorable variation, would be handicapped in the race for life and be less likely to survive. Without necessarily opposing this theory, the follow- ers of Darwin's predecessor, Lamarck, attach more im- portance to the direct action of environment on the ani- mal that is, the influence of climate, food, and habit. The effect of the first two I will speak of in treating of color ; the last we may usu to illustrate the difference in these two theories by asking the question, " Is habit due to structure, or is structure the result of habit ? " Has Nature, acting through natural selection, preserved those variations which would best fit a bird to occupy its place in the world, and are its habits the outcome of the characters thus acquired, or have the changes which during the ages have occurred in a bird's home, forcing it to alter its habits, been followed by some consequent change in structure, the result of use or of disuse ? For my part, I answer " Yes " to both questions, and turn to our stiff -tailed, spear- tongued "Woodpecker to explain my reply. I can readily understand how the shape of these tail-feathers is the result of habit, for the same or similar structure exists among many birds having no close relationship to one another, but all of which agree in their peculiar use of the tail as a prop ; the Creep- 16 EVOLUTION OF BIRDS. ers, Woodhewers, and Swifts, even some Finches and the Bobolink, that use their tail to support them when perched on swaying reeds, have the feathers more or less pointed and stiffened. Furthermore, this is just the result we should expect from a habit of this kind. But b FIG. 3. Tip of tail of (a) Downy Woodpecker and of (b) Brown Creeper, to show the pointed shape in tails of creeping birds of different families. (Natural size.) I do not understand how the Woodpecker's spear-tipped tongue could have resulted from the habit of impaling grubs, and in this case I should be inclined to regard structure as due to a natural selection which has pre- served favorable variations in the form of this organ. I have not space to discuss this subject more fully, but trust that enough has been said to so convince you of the significance of habit, that when you see a bird in the bush it will not seem a mere automaton, but in each movement will give you evidence of a nice adjustment to its surroundings. Eemember, too, that evolution is a thing of the present as well as of the past. We may not be able to read the earlier pages in the history of a species, but the record of to-day is open to us if we can learn to interpret it. This may be made clearer, and the importance of a study of habit be emphasized, if I briefly outline the rela- tion between the wings, tail, feet, and bill of birds and the manner in which they are used. We are in the field, not in the dissecting room ; our instrument is a field glass, not a scalpel, and in learning the functions of these four FORM AND HABIT: THE WING. 17 organs we shall direct our attention to their external form rather than their internal structure. The Wing. Birds' wings are primarily organs of locomotion, but they are also used as weapons, as musical instruments, in expressing emotion, and they are some- FIG. 4. Young Hoatzin, showing use of hooked fingers in climbing. (After Lucas.) times the seat of sexual adornment. As an organ of loco- motion the wing's most primitve use is doubtless for climbing. Gallinules, for instance, have a small spur on the wrist or " bend of the wing," and the young birds use it to assist their progress among the reeds. A more striking instance of this nature is shown by that singular South American bird, the Hoatzin (Opisthocomus cris- 18 FORM AND HABIT: THE WING. tatus). The young of this bird have well-developed claws on the thumb and first finger, and long before they can fly they use them as aids in clambering about the bushes, very much as we may imagine the Archaeopteryx did. In the adult these claws are wanting. Some eminently aquatic birds, as Grebes and Pen- guins, when on land, may use their wings as fore legs in scrambling awkwardly along ; while some flightless birds, for example, the Ostrich, spread their wings when run- ning. .But let us consider the wing in its true office, that of an organ of flight, showing its range of variation, and finally its degradation into a flightless organ. Among flying birds the spread wings measure in extent FIG. 5 .Ishort, roundedli g and large f rom about three inches in foot of Little Black Rail, a terres- ^ Q smallest Hummingbird trial bird. ( 3 / 6 natural size.) to twelve or fourteen feet in the "Wandering Albatross. The relation between shape of wing and style of flight is so close that if you show an ornithologist a bird's wing he can generally tell you the character of its owner's flight. The ex- tremes are shown by the short-winged ground birds, Fio. 6. Long, pointed wing and small foot of Tree Swallow, an aerial bird. ( 3 / 6 natural size.) such as Rail, Quail, Grouse, certain Sparrows, etc., and long- winged birds, like the Swallows and Albatrosses. There is here a close and, for the ground-inhabiting PLATE VI. LITTLE GBBEN HEBON. (Length, ifoo inches.) PAGE 90. BLACK-CBOWNED NIGHT HEBON. (YOUNO AND ADTTLT.) (Length, 24^00 inches?) GBEAT BLUE HEBON. (Length, 45*00 inches.) FORM AND HABIT: THE WING. 19 birds, important relation between form and habit. Many terrestrial species relj on their dull, protective covering to escape observation, taking wing only when ianger is so near that it is necessary for them to get under way at once. Consequently, Quail, Partridges, and Grouse, much to the amateur sportsman's discom- fiture, spring from the ground as though thrown from a catapult, and reach their highest speed within a few yards of the starting point, while the Albatross is obliged to face the wind and run some distance over the ground or water before slowly lifting itself into the air. There, however, it can remain for hours or even days without once alighting. The Frigate Bird, or Man-o'-War Bird, has a body scarcely larger than that of a chicken, but its tail is one foot and a half in length, and its wings measure seven to Fia. 7. Frigate Bird. (Expanse of wings, 7 to 8 feet) eight feet in extent. Having this enormous spread of sail, its flight is more easy and graceful than that of any living bird. I have seen hundreds of these birds floating in the air, facing the wind, without apparent change of position or the movement of a pinion, for long intervals of time. From this extreme development of the wing as a flight-organ, let us turn to those birds who have not the power of flight. The Ostrich, Ehea, Emu, and Cassowary are f amilar representatives of this group. It is generally believed that these birds have lost the powe* 3 20 FORM AND HABIT: THE WING. of flight, and that as their wings, through disuse, became functionless, their running powers correspondingly in- creased. This, however, is theory, but there are birds which have become flightless through some apparently known cause. They may be found among such widely separated families as Grebes, Auks, Ducks, Rails, Galli- miles, Pigeons, and Parrots. One of the characteristic water birds of our North Atlantic coasts is the Razor-billed Auk. It is a strictly aquatic species, nearly helpless on land, which, as a rule, it visits only when nesting. Its egg is laid in the crevice of a rocky cliff, frequently at some height from the sea. During the winter it migrates southward as far as Long Island. Flight is therefore a necessary faculty, and we find the bird with well-developed wings, which it uses effectively. "We can, however, imagine conditions under which it would not be necessary for the Razor-bill to fly. It might become a permanent resident of isolated islands, laying its egg on accessible beaches. Already an expert diver, obtaining its food in the water, it would not be obliged to rise into the air, and, as a result of dis- use, the wings would finally become too small to support it in aerial flight, though fully answering the purpose of oars. Apparently this is what has happened in the case of the Razor-billed Auk's relative, the flightless, extinct Great Auk. The Razor-bill is sixteen inches long and its wing measures eight inches, while the Great Auk, with a length of thirty inches, has a wing only five and three fourths inches in length. Aside from this differ- ence in measurements these birds closely resemble each other. So far as we are familiar with the Great Auk's habits, they agreed with those of the hypothetical case I have just mentioned, and we are warranted, I think, in assuming that the bird lost the power of flight through disuse of its wings. FORM AND HABIT: THE WING. 21 In antarctic seas we find the arctic Auks replaced by the Penguins, a group in which all the members are flightless. They are possessed of remarkable aquatic FIG. 8. Great Auk, showing relatively small wing. (Length of bird, 80 inches ; of wing, 5'75 inches.) powers, and can, it is said, outswim even fish. They nest only on isolated islands, where they are not exposed to the attack of predaceous mammals. Among Grebes and Ducks we have illustrations of the way in which swimming birds may become tempo- rarily flightless. "With most land-inhabiting birds flight is so important a faculty that any injury to the wings is apt to result fatally. It is necessary, therefore, that the power of flight shall not be impaired. Conse- quently, when molting, the wing-feathers are shed slowly and symmetrically, from the middle of the wing both inwardly and outwardly; the new feathers ap-- pear so quickly that at no time are there more than two or three quills missing from either wing. But the 22 FORM AND HABIT: THE WING. aquatic Grebes and Ducks, protected by the nature of their haunts and habits, lose all their wing-feathers at once, and are flightless until their new plumage has grown. It might then be supposed that permanently flightless forms would be found among the Grebes and Ducks. But these birds are generally migratory, or, if resident, they usually inhabit bodies of fresh water where local conditions or droughts may so affect the food supply that change of residence would become necessary. However, on Lake Titicaca, Peru, there actually is a Grebe which has lived there long enough to have lost the use of its wings as flight-organs. Rails are such ground-lovers, and fly so little, that we should expect to find flightless forms among them when the surroundings were favorable for their development. In New Zealand, that island of so many flightless birds, the requirements are evidently fulfilled, and we have the flightless Wood Hens. Here, too, lives the flightless Gallinule, Notornis, and in this family of Gallinules, birds not unlike Coots, there are at least four flightless species inhabiting islands one in the Moluccas, one in Samoa, one on Tristan d'Acunha, and one on Gough Island. The last two islands are about fifteen hundred miles from Cape Good Hope, and have evidently never been connected with a continent. There seems little reason to doubt, therefore, that the ancestors of the Gallinules now inhabiting these islands reached them by the use of their wings, and that these organs have since become too small and weak to support their owners in the air. Other cases might be cited; for instance, the Dodo of Mauritius among Pigeons, and the Kakapo (Stringops) of New Zealand among Parrots ; but if the illustrations already given have not convinced you that disuse of the wings may result in loss of flight, let PLATE VII. PAGES 93, 94. AMEBICAN BITTEBN. Length, 28-00 inches. A black streak on neck; body brown and buff; primaries slate-color. 8OBA. Length, 8-50 inches. Adult, upper parts olive-brown, black, and white; throat and face black, breast slate, belly white, flanks black and white. Young, similar, but face, throat, and breast whitewashed with brownish. FORM AND HABIT: THE WING. 23 me take you finally to the poultry yard, where in the waddling Duck you will see an undeniable instance of degeneration. As the seat of sexual characters the wing is some- times most singularly developed or adorned. The males of the Argus Pheasant and Pennant-winged Nightjar have certain feathers enormously lengthened ; the Stand- ard-bearer has white plumes growing from the wing ; and there are many other cases in which the wing presents sex- ual characters, not alone through display, but also by use as a musical organ. I do not refer to the whistling sound made by the wings of flying Doves or Ducks, or the humming of Hummingbirds, but to sounds volun- tarily produced by birds, and evidently designed to an- swer the purpose of song. A simple form of this kind of " music " is shown by the cock in clapping his wings before crowing, in the " drumming " of Grouse, or in the " booming " of Night- hawks, as with wings set they dive from a height earth- ward. The male Cassique (Ostinops) of South America, after giving voice to notes which sound like those pro- duced by chafing trees in a gale, leans far forward, spreads and raises his large orange and black tail, then vigorously claps his wings together over his back, mak- ing a noise which so resembles the cracking of branches that one imagines the birds learned this singular per- formance during a gale. The birds mentioned thus far have no especial wing structure beyond rather stiffened feathers; but in the Woodcock, some Paradise-birds and Flycatchers, Guans, Pipras, and other tropical birds, certain wing-feathers are singularly modified as musical instruments. Some- times the outer primaries are so narrowed that little but the shaft or midrib is left, as in both sexes of the Wood- cock, when the rapid wing-strokes are accompanied by a 24 FORM AND HABIT: THE WING. high., whistling sound. In other cases the shafts of the wing-feathers may be much enlarged and horny, when the bird makes a sin- gular snapping sound in flight. If you recall the supplicating manner of a younff bird as with FIG. 9. Wing of Woodcock, showing three ' ^ . outer attenuate feathers. (/, natural gently fluttering WingS it begs for food, you will recognize one of several ways in which the wings may express emotion. Birds also threaten with their wings, as any hen with chicks will testify, and from this FIG. 10. Jacana, showing spur on wing (natural size) and elongated toes ( J / 8 natural size). gesture to the actual delivery of a blow is but a step. Swans, Pigeons, and Chickens can deal forcible blows with their wings. Screamers, Lapwings, and Jacanas FORM AND HABIT: THE TAIL. 25 have formidable spurs on their wings, which they are supposed to use in combat. The Tail. Except when sexually developed, the shape of the tail is largely governed by the character of its owner's flight. Male Lyre-birds, Pheasants, Fowls, Hummingbirds, and many others furnish well-marked instances of the tail as a sexual character. Indeed, as the least important to the bird of the four external organs we are speaking of, the tail is more often sexually modified than any of the other three. The main office of the tail, however, is mechanical, to act as a rudder in flight and a " balancer " when perch- ing. Short-tailed birds generally fly in a straight course, and can not make sharp turns, while long-tailed birds can pursue a most erratic course, with marvelous ease and grace. The Grebes are practically tailless, and their flight is comparatively direct, but the Swallow-tailed Kite, with a tail a foot or more in length, can dash to right or left at the most abrupt angle. Among tree-creeping birds, which always climb up- ward, the tail is used as a brace or prop. This character, as has been said, is possessed by all Woodpeckers, by the quite different Woodhewers of South America, the Brown Creep- ers of temperate regions, and other birds (see Figs. 3 and 4). The two middle feathers in the tail of the Motmot, of the American tropics, end in a racket-shaped disk, the result of a unique habit. Similarly shaped feathers are found in the tails of some Hummingbirds and Old World Kingfishers, but in the Motmot this peculiar shape is due to a self-inflicted mutilation. The newly grown feathers, as shown in the accompanying figure, lack the terminal disk, but as soon as they are grown, the birds begin to pick at the barbs, and in a short time the shaft is de- nuded, in some species for the space of an inch, in others for as much as two inches. 26 FORM AND HABIT: THE TAIL. This singular habit is practiced by numerous species of Motmots, ranging from Mexico to Brazil. It is there- fore of undoubted age, and we can only speculate upon its use and origin. Young birds from the nest, reared FIG. 11. Central tail-feathers of Motmot (Momotus subrufescens), showing newly grown feathers (at the left) and results of self-inflicted mutilation. in confinement where they were isolated from others of their kind, trimmed their tail-feathers soon after they were grown.* The habit, therefore, is inherited, but the mutilation, although it has doubtless been practiced for countless generations, has not become inherent, unless we consider the constriction in the vane of the feather at the place where it is to be trimmed an indication of inheritance. The Motmot gesticulates with its tail hi a remarkable manner, swinging it from side to side, so that it suggests the pendulum of a clock, or sweeping it about in circles with a movement which reminds one of a bandmaster flourishing his baton. We shall find in other species, also, that the tail, more than any other organ, is used to express emotion. Recall its twitching and wagging ; how it is nervously spread or "jetted," showing the white * See Cherrie, The Auk (New York city), vol. ix, 1892, p. 322. PfcATE VIII. AMERICAN COOT. PAGE 94. Length, 15-00 inches. Head and neck blackish, body slate ; under tail coverts, tips of secondaries, and end of bill white. CLAPPER RAIL. Length, 14 '50 inches. Upper parts pale greenish olive and gray; throat white, breast pale cinnamon, flanks gray and white. FORM AND HABIT: THE FEET. 27 outer feathers, as in the Meadowlark. The tail may also be expressive of disposition. Compare the drooped tail of a pensive Flycatcher with the uptilted member of an inquisitive Wren. But it is when displaying its beauties that a bird speaks most eloquently with its tail. Can anything ex- ceed the pompous pride of a Turkey cock strutting in swollen glory, with tail stiffly spread ? The Peacock erects his tail in a similar manner, but it is entirely con- cealed by the train of gorgeous feathers which it par- tially supports. The Feet. As the feet share with the Hangs the re- sponsibilities of locomotion, there is often a close rela- tion between these organs. For example, short-winged terrestrial species like Quails, Grouse, and Rails have well- developed feet, but such aerial creatures as Swifts and Swallows have exceedingly small feet (see Figs. 3 and 4). The aquatic Grebes and Divers are practically helpless on land, but the Ostrich can outrun the horse ; while in the perching birds the foot is so specialized that by the auto- Pio. 12. Lobed foot of a Coot, a swimming bird of the Kail family. ( l / 3 natural size.) Fio. 13. Lobed foot of a Phala- rope, a swimming bird of the Snipe family. (Is atural size.) matic action of certain tendons the birds are locked to their perches while sleeping. A webbed foot implies abil- ity to swim, and we find this character present in all the 28 FORM AND HABIT: THE FEET. water-loving Divers, Auks, Gulls, Cormorants, and Ducks. In the wading Herons and marsh-inhabiting Kails and Gallinules the web is absent, but it reappears in the form of lobes on the toes of the aquatic Coots of the same family. Some shore-inhabiting Snipe have the bases of the toes united by webs, but the Phalaropes, of two species, have lobed toes not unlike those of the Coots, and are true swimming Snipe living on the sea for long periods. Length of foot is largely dependent upon length of neck. This is illustrated by the Herons, and is particu- larly well shown by the long-necked Flamingo, which has a foot twelve inches long. Its toes are webbed, and it can wade in deep water and search for food on the bottom by immersing its long neck and its head. In the tropical Ja- canas the toes and toe- nails are much length- ened, enabling the bird to pass over the water on aquatic plants. I have seen these birds walking on small lily leaves, which sank be- Fio. 14. Flamingo, showing relative length . , . . , of legs and neck in a wading bird, neath their weight, giv- ing one the impression that they were walking on the water (see Fig. 10). Many ground-feeding birds use the feet in scratching for food ; Chickens are familiar examples. Towhees and FOKM AND HABIT: THE FEET. 29 Sparrows use both feet in searching for food, jumping quickly backward and throwing the leaves behind them. Parrots use their foot as a hand. Some Hawks carry nesting material in it, and all birds of prey strike their quarry with their strongly curved claws, which are then used to carry, or hold it while it is being torn by the bill. The foot of the Fish Hawk is a magnificent organ. The nails are strong and well curved ; the inner surface of the toes is set with sharp, horny spikes, and the outer toe is partly reversible, so that the bird grasps its slippery prey from four dif- ferent points. Fl T G - i5.-Foot of Fish Hawk, showing large As a weapon the foot is especially claws, and spicuies on /v , . -T - , 7 , under surface of toes. effective, the use of spurs being too (y s natural size.) well known to require comment. Os- triches kick with their feet, and can, it is said, deliver a blow powerful enough to fell a man. But by far the best instance of modification in the structure of the feet is furnished by Grouse. It is an FIG. 16. Naked toes of Ruffed Grouse in summer; fringed toes of Ruffed Grouse in winter. (2/3 natural size.) unusual case of seasonal adaptation in form. During the summer the toes of Grouse are bare and slender, but as 30 FORM AND HABIT: THE BILL. these birds are largely ground-haunters, and most of them inhabit regions where the snowfall is heavy, the toes in winter acquire a comblike fringe on either side. Practi- cally, therefore, Grouse don snowshoes in the fall, and wear them until the following spring. The Bill. Of the four organs we are considering, the bill is beyond question the most important. We have seen that a bird may be wingless and practically tailless, and may almost lose the use of its feet ; but from the moment the bill breaks the eggshell and liberates the chick, the bird's life is dependent upon its services. The variety of offices performed by the bill, and the correspondingly numerous forms it assumes, are, doubtless, without parallel in the animal world. The special modification of the fore limbs as flight- organs deprives birds of their use for other important services, and consequently we have a biped which, so far as their assistance goes, is without arms or hands. As a result, the duties which would naturally fall to these members are performed by the bill, whose chief office, therefore, is that of a hand. Occasionally it is sexually adorned, as in the Puffins, several Auks, Ducks, and the White Pelicans, which, during the nesting season, have some special plate, knob, or color on the bill. With the Woodpeckers it is a musical instrument the drumstick with which they beat a tattoo on some resounding limb. Owls and some other birds, when angry or frightened, snap their mandibles together like castanets. But it is as a hand that the bill gives best evidence of adaptation to or by habit. Among families in which the wings, tail, and feet are essentially alike in form, the bill may present great vari- ation proof apparently of its response to the demands made upon it. All birds use it as a comb and brush with which to PLATE IX. PAGE 97. WILSON'S SNIPE. Length, 11.25 inches. Upper parts black, buff and rusty ; throat and belly white, rest of under parts black and buff. FORM AND HABIT: THE BILL. 31 perform their toilet, and, pressing a drop of oil from the gland at the root of the tail, they dress their feathers with their bill. Parrots use the bill in climbing, and its hawklike shape in these birds is an unusual instance of similarity in structure accompanying different habits. Birds which do not strike with their feet may use the bill as a weapon, but the manner in which it is em- ployed corresponds so closely with the method by which a bird secures its food, that as a weapon the bill pre- sents no special modifications. In constructing the nest the bill may be used as a trowel, an auger, a needle, a chisel, and as several other tools. But as a hand the bill's most important office is that of procuring food ; and wonderful indeed are the forms it assumes to supply the appetites of birds who may require a drop of nectar or a tiny insect from the heart of a flower, a snake from the marshes, a clam or mussel from the ocean's beach, or a fish from its waters. The bill, therefore, becomes a forceps, lever, chisel, hook, hammer, awl, probe, spoon, spear, sieve, net, and knife in short, there is almost no limit to its shape and uses. With Hummingbirds the shape of the bill is appar- ently related to the flowers from which the bird most frequently procures its food. It ranges in length from a quarter of an inch in the Small-billed Hummer (Micro- rhynchus) to five inches in the Siphon-bill (Docimastes\ which has a bill longer than ., , , , . . , FIG. 17. Decurved bill of Sickle- its body, and IS Said to feed bill Hummingbird. (Natural from the long-tubed trumpet flowers. The Avocet Hummer (Avocettula) has a bill curved slightly upward, but in the Sickle-billed Hummer (Eutoxeres) it is curved downward to form half a circle, and the bird feeds on flowers having a similarly curved 32 FORM AND HABIT: THE BILL. corolla. In the Tooth-billed Hummer (Androdori) both mandibles are finely serrate at the end, the upper one being also hooked, and the bird feeds on insects which it captures on the surface of leaves and other places. Among the Woodhewers (Dendrocolaptidce) of South America there is fully as much variability, which reflects equally variable feeding habits. Some species have short, stout, straight bills, others exceedingly long, slender, curved ones. FIG. 18. Serrate bill of Merganser, a fish- Mergansers, Gannets, An- eating bird, ('/ a natural size.) , . hmgas, and other birds that catch fish by pursuing them under water, have sharply serrate mandibles, which aid them in holding their slippery prey. Some shore birds (LimicoloB) use the bill as a probe, FIG. 19. Probelike bill of Woodcock, showing extent to which upper mandi- ble can be moved. ( a /3 natural size.) when it may be six inches in length and straight, 01 curved downward. It has recently been learned that FIG. 20. Eecurved bill of Avocet. ( 2 / 8 natural size.) several of these probing Snipe, notably the Woodcock, have the power of moving the end of the upper mandi- FORM AND HABIT: THE BILL. 33 ble, which better enables them to grasp objects while probing. In the Avocet the bill is curved upward, and the bird swings it from side to side, scraping the bottom in its search for food. The JSTew Zealand Wrybill has its bill turned to the right for the ter- minal third, and the bird uses it as a crooked probe to push under stones in hunting for its prey. The Siberian Spoonbill Fl - Sandpiper has a most singular bill, which is much enlarged at the end, suggesting a flat-ended forceps. The Roseate Spoonbill, an entirely different bird, has a somewhat similarly shaped bill, a striking instance of the occurrence of the same form in families which are not closely related. But probably the most remarkable instance of relation FI. 22. Curved bill of female, straight bill of male Huia-bird. (i/ t natural size.) between the form of the bill and feeding habits is fur- nished by the Huia-bird of New Zealand. The male of this species has a comparatively short, straight bill, while 34 FORM AND HABIT: THE BILL. that of the female is long and curved. The birds feed on larvae, which they find in dead wood. The male hammers and chisels away the wood very much as Wood- peckers do, while the female uses her bill as a probe. We have, therefore, the singular case of two forms of the bill arising in the same species as a result of or caus- ing a corresponding difference in habit. PLATE X. PAGES 87, 98, 99. COMMON TEEN. (Length, 15.00 inches.) SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER. SEMIPALMATED PLOVER. (Length, 6'jo inches.) (Length, 6*75 inches.) CHAPTER III. COLORS OF BIRDS.* THE almost endless range of variation in the colors and pattern of coloration of birds' plumage has attracted the attention of many philosophic naturalists. Why, for example, should birds from some regions always be darker than those from other regions; why should ground-inhabiting birds generally wear a dull or neutral tinted costume ; and why should the male, with few ex- ceptions, be brighter than the female ? For answer I will outline some of the leading facts and theories in connection with this interesting subject. In the first place, however, it will be necessary for us to have some idea of the extent of individual change in color, that is, the various phases of color, which a bird may pass through during different periods of its life.f * Consult Poulton, Colors of Animals (D. Appleton & Co.). Gadow, in Newton's Dictionary of Birds articles, Color and Feathers. Bed- dard, Animal Coloration (Macmillan Co.). Keeler, Evolution of the Colors of North American Land Birds ; occasional papers, California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco), iii, 1893. Also Allen, reviews of last two works, The Auk (New York city), x, 1893, pp. 189-199, 373-380. Allen, Alleged Changes of Color in the Feathers of Birds without Molting ; Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural His- tory, New York city, viii, 1896, pp. 13-44. Chadbourne, Individual Dichromatism in the Screech Owl ; The Auk, xiii, 1896, pp. 321-325, and xiv, 1897, pp. 33-39, one plate. f The term color, as here used, means practically the plumage or dress of birds. i 35 36 COLOR AND AGE. Color and Age. All birds have a special nestling plumage. With those that run or swim at birth, such as Grouse, Snipe, and Ducks, this is a full suit of down, which may be worn for several weeks. "With those birds which are helpless when hatched for instance, Kobins, Sparrows, and Orioles this downy covering is so scanty that they are practically naked. This birth dress is followed by a new growth, known as the " first plumage." Down-covered birds do not acquire this for some time, but with those birds that are born nearly naked it begins to grow soon after they are hatched, and is almost complete when they leave the nest. The first plumage is often unlike that of either parent ; for ex- ample, the spotted plumage of the Kobin. It is worn for several months by some species certain Snipe and others but with most land birds it is soon exchanged for the costume they will wear through the winter, usually termed the "immature plumage." This may resemble that of either parent respectively that is, immature males may be like adult males and immature females like adult females, as with the Bob-white and Cardinal Gros- beak ; or the immature birds of both sexes may resemble the adult female, as with the Hummingbird and Bobolink. Again, the immature birds of both sexes may be unlike either of the adults, as with the Eagle and most Hawks ; or the immature female may resemble the adult female, while the immature male is unlike either parent, as in the case of the Eose-breasted Grosbeak and Scarlet Tanager. When both parents are alike, the young generally resem- ble them, and this happens among most of our land birds ; for example, the Flycatchers, Crows and Jays, many Sparrows, Yireos, Wrens, and Thrushes. Immature birds, differing from the adults, may ac- quire the adult plumage the next spring, as with the Bobolink, or they may then don a second or transition COLOR AND SEASON. 37 plumage, and not assume the dress of maturity until the second or even the third spring, which is the case with the Orchard Oriole. Color and Season. Quite apart from the changes in A^fruit- eating Tanagers, Orioles, Parrots, and other birds that may be found near them. Insects are therefore more likely to come within snapping distance than if these birds were conspicuously colored. In the same manner we may explain the colors of Hawks, which are never brightly plumaged. It is well known that many arctic animals become white on the approach of winter. With Ptarmigans this is doubtless an instance of protective coloration, but the Snowy Owl, who feeds on the Ptarmigan, may be said to illustrate deceptive coloration. Recognition, signaling, or directive colors have, with more or less reason, been made to include many different types of markings, of which I shall mention only those that are conspicuously shown in flight or by some move- ment. Such are the white outer tail-feathers of Juncos, Meadowlarks, Towhees, and many other birds, and cer- tain wing and rump patches, which are noticeable only when the bird is on the wing. Markings of this kind are supposed to aid birds in recognizing others of their kind, their special use being to keep the individuals of a family or flock together, so that when one starts the others can readily follow. The theory is open to objections, but these so-called recognition marks are so often found among birds that they doubtless are of some use, though their COLOR AND SEX. 45 exact value remains to be determined by closer obser- vation. Color and Sex* It is not possible here to discuss at length the vexed question of sexual coloration. But, as a means of directing observation, I present a synopsis of the principal types of secondary sexual characters, with some of the theories which have been advanced to ac- count for them. SYNOPSIS OF THE SECONDARY SEXUAL CHARACTERS OF BIRDS. I. STRUCTURAL. Size Plumage. Of the body. Of the feet. Of the bill l ar er th an female (usual). Female larger than male (rare). Color ! ^ a ^ e bl> ih. ter than female. ' ( Female brighter than male (rare). f Assumption of plumes, ruffs, crests, trains, etc. : special modification of wing and tail Form. <{ feathers. I a. Worn by male alone. ^ b. Worn by both sexes. Sole or greater development in male of brightly col- ored bare tracts of skin, combs, wattles, caruncles, and other fleshy or horny appendages. Sole or greater development in male of spurs. Male with more ^^ly colored or larger bill than female. Pursuit. Display. Battle. Music. Special habits. II. FUNCTIONAL. ( By male when similar to or brighter than female. \ By female when brighter than male. By male of accessory plumes and other appendages. By male using spurs, wings, bill, etc. ( Vocal, by male and, rarely, female. \ Mechanical, by male and sometimes female. {Dances, mock fights, aerial evolutions, construction of bowers, decoration of playgrounds, attitudinizing, strutting, etc. . By male before the female. 6. Among the males alone. * Read Darwin, The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex (D. Appleton & Co.). Wallace, Darwinism (Macmillan Co.). 46 COLOR AND SEX. In explanation of these remarkable differences of form and habit, we have first Darwin's theory of " sexual se- lection." This is based upon the ardor in love, the cour- age and rivalry of the males, and also upon the powers of perception, taste, and will of the female. The spurs of the male, for example, are supposed to have been developed through the battles of the males. At first a mere knob, they were an advantage to the bird possessing them, enabling him to defeat his rivals. The successful male would be more likely to have oifspring who would inherit the tendency of their father to have spurs, and thus, by selection, the unspurred cocks would gradually be replaced by those better armed. This is known as the " law of battle." But the bright colors and gay plumes of the cock have originated, under this theory, through the taste of the female, who, it is assumed, would be more likely to accept the attentions of a bird pleasing in her eye than one who was less strikingly adorned. This has been termed by Lloyd Morgan " preferential mating." Wallace has accepted the law of battle as an effective agent in producing certain characters, but considers it natural, rather than sexual selection, and he denies the existence of any important evidence proving female selec- tion. He therefore attributes many secondary sexual characters to a surplus of vital energy, which, because of a bird's perfect adaptation to the conditions of its exist- ence, can expend itself in the production of bright colors and ornamental plumes without injury to their owners. That is to say, Wallace ascribes to the action of natural selection any secondary sexual character which is of prac- tical use to the male in conflicts with a rival, but denies the female any part in the matter of pairing. Darwin, as I have said, attributes to the female an aesthetic taste which renders the brilliant colors or display of the PLATE XIII. PAGE 102. MOURNING DOVE. Length, 11-75 inches. Upper parts olive grayish brown, sides and back of neck iridescent; breast with a pinkish tinge, belly buff; outer tail- feathers tipped with white. COLOR AND SEX. 4? male an attractive sight, influencing her choice of a mate. There is thus a practical agreement in the views of these naturalists on the origin of those sexual characters which may be classed as weapons, and this opinion is, I believe, generally accepted. But the question of female preference, and its influence on the development of bright colors and accessory plumes, still lacks confirmation. Here is an opportunity for every one who can watch wild birds mating. CHAPTEE IY. THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS.* To the field student the season of migration is the *iost interesting of the year. The bird-life of a vast area then passes in review before him. Though living in a temperate region, he may see birds whose summer home is within the Arctic Circle, whose winter haunts are in the tropics. Who can tell what bird he may find in the woods he has been exploring for years ? The comparative regularity with which birds come and go gives an added charm to the study of migration. Their journey is not a " helter-skelter " rushing onward, but is like the well -governed march of an army. We feel a sense of satisfaction in knowing when we may ex- pect to greet a given species, and a secret elation if we succeed in detecting it several days in advance of other observers. We study weather charts, and try to foretell or explain those great flights or " waves " of birds which are so closely dependent upon meteorologic conditions. * Read Allen, Scribner's Magazine, vol. xxii, 1881, pp. 932-938, Bulletin of Nuttall Ornithological Club (Cambridge, Mass.), vol. v, 1880, pp. 151-154. Scott, ibid., vol. vi, 1880, pp. 97-100, Brewster, Memoirs of Nuttall Ornithological Club, No. 1, pp. 22. Cooke and Merriam, Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley (Washington, 1888). Chapman, The Auk (New York city), vol. v, 1888, pp. 37-35 ; vol. xi, 3894. PP. 12-17. Loomis, ibid., vol. ix, 1892, pp. 28-39; vol. xi, 1894, pp. 2(3-39, 94-JJ7. Stone, Birds of Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, pp. 15-2b. 48 EXTENT OF MIGRATION. 49 Extent of Migration. The extent of a bird's migra- tion is, in most cases, dependent upon the nature of its food. Birds that are resident in one place throughout the year generally change their fare with the season, and apparently feed with equal relish on seeds or insects. Those that are dependent upon fruit must migrate far enough to find a supply of berries, while the insect-eaters are obliged to travel even farther south. Most of the migratory birds of our Western States pass the winter in Mexico. Our Eastern Sparrows and our berry-eaters, like the Eobin and Bluebird, winter from the Middle States to the Gulf coast, while the ma- jority of our purely insectivorous species cross to Cuba and winter in the West Indies, or continue to Central America and even northern South America. Snipe and Plover make the most extended migrations, some species breeding within the Arctic Circle and wintering along the coasts of Patagonia. Times of Migration. Let us suppose we are about to observe the spring migration of birds at Englewood, New Jersey a few miles from New York city. Birds arrive here about a week later than at Washington, D. C., and a week earlier than at Boston. During January and February, while watching for some rare visitor from the North, we shall find that Tree Sparrows and Juncos are everywhere common. Less frequently we may see Shrikes, Winter Wrens, Golden- crowned Kinglets and Brown Creepers, and rarely Snow- flakes, Red Crossbills, and Redpolls will be observed. These birds are winter visitants, coming to us from the North in the fall and leaving in March and April. Of course, in addition to these migratory birds, we shall see most if not all of our commoner permanent residents, or the birds which are with us throughout the year. They are the Bob-white, Ruffed Grouse, Red- 50 TIMES OF MIGRATION. shouldered and Ked-tailed Hawks, Barred and Screech Owls, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Blue Jay, Crow, Goldfinch, Song Sparrow, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Chickadee. Generally speaking, the birds in the front rank of the feathered army which soon will invade the land are those whose winter quarters are farthest north, while those that winter farthest south bring up the rear. From February 20 to March 10, therefore, we may expect to see Purple Grackles, Robins, Bluebirds, and Bed-winged Blackbirds ; birds that have wintered but a short distance south of us if not with us and who have accepted the slightest encouragement from the weather as an order to advance. All the first comers will doubtless be males, this sex, as a rule, preceding the females by several days. About the middle of March we may look for the Woodcock, Meadowlark, Fox Sparrow, Cowbird, and Phoebe ; their time of arrival being largely dependent upon the temperature warm weather hastening, and cold weather retarding their movements. Toward the last of March, Wilson's Snipe, the King- fisher, Mourning Dove, Swamp and Field Sparrows are due. Early in April the Purple Finch, White-throated, Yesper, and Chipping Sparrows will announce their re- turn in familiar notes, and at the same time Tree Swal- lows, Myrtle Warblers, Pipits, and Hermit Thrushes will appear. They will soon be followed by Barn Swallows and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. The migration is now well under way, and we go to the field with the assurance of meeting some lately arrived feathered friend almost daily. Between April 20 and 30 we will doubtless note among the newcomers, the Green Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, Whip-poor-will^ PLATE XIV. HED-SHOULDERED HAWK. PAGE 104. Length, 19-00 inches. Adult > upper parts blackish brown and rusty; lesser wing-coverts bright chestnut; wings and tail black and white; under parts rich rusty and white. Young, less rusty on back, wings and tail largely rusty; under parts white, spotted or streaked with blackish. TIMES OF MIGRATION. 51 Chimney Swift, Least Flycatcher, Towhee, Purple Mar- tin, Cliff and Bank Swallows, Black and White and Black-throated Green Warblers, Oven-bird, House Wren, Brown Thrasher, Catbird, and Wood Thrush. This troop surely is not without musicians. In ringing tones they herald the victory of Spring over Winter. The season of cold waves has passed, and the birds now appear with the regularity of calendar events. From May 1 to 12 the migration reaches its height. It is a time of intense interest to the bird student, and happy is he who can spend unlimited time afield. Some mornings we may find ten or more different spe- cies that have come back to us, and each one may be represented by many individuals. The woods are thronged with migrants, and the scantily leaved trees and bushes enable us to observe them far more easily than we can when they travel southward in the fall. During this exciting period we should see the Cuckoos, Nighthawk, Ruby -throated Hummingbird, Crested Fly- catcher, Kingbird, Wood Pewee, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Bobolink, Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Gros- beak, Scarlet Tanager, Red-eyed, Warbling, Yellowv throated, and White-eyed Yireos, Long-billed Marsh Wren, Wilson's Thrush, Redstart, Yellow-breasted Chat, Maryland Yellow-throat, Yellow Warbler, and others of its family. Succeeding days will bring additions to the ranks of these species, and there will also be numerous small Warblers to look for, but by May 12 all our more familiar and common birds have arrived. During the rest of the month, as the transient visitants, or species which nest farther north, pass onward, birds gradually decrease in numbers, and by June 5 we have left only those that will spend the summer with us. The migration over, we can now give our wbote 5 52 TIMES OF MIGRATION. attention to a study of nesting habits. As a matter of fact, the nesting season begins .quite as early as the spring migration, the Great Horned Owl laying its eggs late in February. In March and April other birds of prey and the earlier migrants nest. May migrants go to housekeeping soon after they reach their old homes, and by June 5 there are few species that have not nests. With birds that rear two or three broods, the nest- ing season may extend into August. With those that have but one brood it may be over early in July. At this time we begin to miss the jolly, rollicking music of the Bobolink. Soon he will leave the meadow he has animated for two months, and with his young join grow- ing flocks of his kind in the wild-rice marshes. His handsome suit of black and white and buff will be ex- changed for the sparrowlike Eeedbird dress, and in place of the merry song he will utter only a metallic tink. This note is characteristic of the season. Day and night we hear it from birds high in the air as they hasten to their rendezvous in the marshes. July 1, Tree Swallows, who nest rarely if at all near New York city, appear and establish their headquarters in the Hackensack meadows a first step on the migra- tory journey. July is a month for wanderers. The nest- ing season of most one-brooded birds is over ; they are not yet ready to migrate, and pass the time roving about the country with their families. In August birds are molting and moping. The careful observer will find that a few Warblers and Fly- catchers have returned from the north and are passing southward, but, as a rule, August is a month to test the patience of the most enthusiastic bird student. Late in the month migrants become more numerous, but be- tween the "flights" or "waves" there are days when PLATE XV. PAGE 106. MABSH HAWK. Length, 20-00 inches. Adult male, upper parts gray ; under parts white with rusty spots; upper tail-coverts white. Adult female and young^ upper parts black and rich rusty ; under parts rich rusty and black ; upper tail-coverts white. TIMES OF MIGRATION. 53 one may tramp the woods for miles without seeing a dozen birds. September is the month of Warblers. They come in myriads during the latter half of the month, and on favorable nights we may sometimes hear their fine-voiced tseeps as they fly by overhead. About the 25th of the month our winter residents, the Junco, Winter Wren, Golden Kinglet, and Brown Creeper, will arrive. The summer residents are now rapidly leaving us. In a general way it may be said that the last birds to arrive in the spring are the first to leave in the fall, while the earliest spring migrants remain the longest. October and November are the months of Sparrows. They rise in loose flocks from every stubble or weed field, and seek shelter in the bordering bushy growth. Should the season prove warm, many of these hardy seed-eaters will stay with us well into December, but at the first really cold weather they retreat southward. This completes the merest outline of the move- ments of our migratory birds. It will be seen that in reality there are but few periods during the year when some event is not occurring in the bird world. As we accumulate records for comparison, and learn to appre- ciate their meaning, our interest in the study of migra- tion will increase and be renewed with the changing seasons. We have found, in this brief review, that our birds may be placed in four classes, as follows : 1. Permanent Residents. Birds that are represented in the same locality throughout the year. 2. Summer Residents. Birds that come to us in the spring, rear their young, and depart in the fall. 3. Winter Residents. Birds that come from the north in the fall, pass the winter with us, and return to thei? more northern homes in the spring. 54: MANNER OF MIGRATION. 4. Transient Visitants. Birds whose summer home is north and whose winter home is south of us. In traveling from one to the other they pass through the intervening region as " transients." Manner of Migration. The Oriole, who builds his swinging nest in your elm tree, will winter in Central America ; the Bobolink, who seems so care-free in your meadows, must journey to his winter quarters in southern Brazil. But, unless accident befalls, both birds will re- turn to you the following spring. We are so accustomed to these phenomena that we accept them as part of the changing seasons without realizing how wonderful they are. But look for a moment at a map, and try to form a mental picture of the Bobolink's route. Over valleys, mountains, marshes, plains, and forests, over straits and seas hundreds of miles in width, he pursues a course through trackless space with a regularity and certainty which brings him to the same place at nearly the same time year after year. How much of his knowledge of the route he has inherited, and how much learned dur- ing his own lifetime, is a question we may return to later ; now we are concerned with actual 'methods of migration. Immediately after, or even during the nesting season, many birds begin to resort nightly to roosts frequented sometimes by immense numbers of their kinds, with often the addition of other species. These movements are apparently inaugurated by the old birds, and are ID a sense the beginnings of the real migratory journey. Other birds roam the woods in loose bands or families, their wanderings being largely controlled by the supply of food. During this time they may be molting, but when their new plumage is acquired they are ready for the start. The old birds lead the way, either alone or asso- PLATE XVI. PAGE 106. SPABBOW HAWK. Length, 11-00 Inches. Male, back reddish brown and black, wing- coverts slaty blue, tail reddish brown marked with black and white ; under parts washed with rusty and spotted with black. Female, back, wings, and tail barred with reddish brown and black ; under parts white, streaked with reddish brown. MANNER OF MIGRATION. 55 elated with the young. Some fly by day, some by night, and others by both day and night. This fact was first established by Mr. William Brewster, who, in his admi- rable memoir on Bird Migration, writes : " Timid, seden- tary, or feeble-winged birds migrate by night, because they are either afraid to venture on long, exposed jour- neys by daylight, or unable to continue these journeys day after day without losing much time in stopping to search for food. By taking the nights for traveling they can devote the days entirely to feeding and resting in their favorite haunts. Good examples are Thrushes (except the Robin), Wrens, Warblers, and Yireos. " Bold, restless, strong- winged birds migrate chiefly, or very freely, by day, because, being accustomed to seek their food in open situations, they are indifferent to con- cealment, and being further able to accomplish long dis- tances rapidly and with slight fatigue, they can ordi- narily spare sufficient time by the way for brief stops in places where food is abundant and easily obtained. Under certain conditions, however, as when crossing large bodies of water or regions scantily supplied with food, they are sometimes obliged to travel partly, or per- haps even exclusively, by night. Excellent examples are the Robin (Merula), Horned Lark (Otocoris), and most Icteridce [Bobolink, Blackbirds, and Orioles]. " Birds of easy, tireless wing, which habitually feed in the air or over very extensive areas, migrate exclusively by day, because, being able either to obtain their usual supply of food as they fly, or to accomplish the longest journeys so rapidly that they do not require to feed on the way, they are under no necessity of changing their usual habits. The best examples are Swallows, Swifts, and Hawks." While migrating, birds follow mountain chains, coast- lines, and particularly river valleys, all of which become 56 MANNER OF MIGRATION. highways of migration. Through telescopic observations it has been learned that migrating birds travel at a great height. The exact height remains to be determined, but it is known that many migrants are at least a mile above the earth. From this elevation they command an ex- tended view, and in clear weather prominent features of the landscape are doubtless distinguishable to their pow- erful vision at a great distance. It is when fogs and storms obscure the view that birds lose their way. Then they fly much lower, perhaps seek- ing some landmark, and, should a lighthouse lie in their path, they are often attracted to it in countless numbers. Thousands of birds perish annually by striking these lights during stormy fall weather. In the spring the weather is more settled and fewer birds are killed. Although birds are guided mainly by sight, hearing is also of assistance to them on their migrations. Indeed, at night, young birds, who have never made the journey be- fore, must rely largely upon this sense to direct them. It is difficult for us to realize that on favorable nights during the migratory season myriads of birds are passing through the dark and apparently deserted air above us. Often they are so numerous as to form a continuous stream, and if we listen we may hear their voices as they call to one another while flying rapidly onward. Some idea may be formed of the multitude of birds which throng the upper air on favorable nights during their migration by using a telescope. One having a two- inch object glass will answer the purpose. It should be focused on the moon, when the birds in passing are sil- houetted against the glowing background. At the proper focal distance they appear with startling distinctness. In some cases each wing-beat can .be detected, and with a large glass it is even possible to occasionally recognize the kind of bird. PLATE XVII. PAGE 107. SHAEP-SHINNED HAWK. Length of male, 11-25 inches; of female, 13-50 inches. Adult, upper parts slaty gray ; under parts white and rusty brown. Young-, upper parts blackish brown; under parts white, streaked with rusty brown. MANNER OF MIGRATION. 57 Observations of this kind should be made in Septem- ber, when the fall migration is at its height. On the night of September 3, 1887, at Tenafly, New Jersey, a friend and myself, using a six-and-a-half -inch equatorial glass, saw no less than two hundred and sixty-two birds cross the narrow angle subtended by the limbs of the moon between the hours of eight and eleven. Observa- tions made several years later, in September, from the observatory of Columbia University, yielded closely simi- lar results. This nocturnal journey of birds may also be studied from lighthouses. On September 26, 1891, I visited the Bartholdi Statue of the Goddess of Liberty, in New York Bay, for this purpose. The weather was most favorable. The first bird was observed at eight o'clock, and for the succeeding two hours others were constantly heard, though comparatively few were seen. At ten o'clock it began to ram ; and almost simultaneously there was a marked increase in the number of birds about the light, and within a few minutes there were hundreds where before there was one, while the air was filled with the calls of the passing host. From the balcony which encircles the torch the scene was impressive beyond description. We seemed to have torn aside the veil which shrouds the mysteries of the night, and with the searching light exposed the secrets of Nature. By far the larger number of birds hurried onward ; others hovered before us, like Hummingbirds before a flower, then flew swiftly by into the darkness ; and some, apparently blinded by the brilliant rays, struck the statue slightly, or with sufficient force to cause them to fall dead or dying. At daybreak a few stragglers were still wing- ing their way southward, but before the sun rose the flight was over. 58 ORIGIN OF MIGRATION. Origin of Migration. Why do birds migrate ? It is true that in temperate and boreal regions the return of cold weather robs them of their food, and they retreat southward. But many, in fact most, birds begin their southern journey long before the first fall frost. We have seen that some species start as early as July and August. Furthermore, there are many birds that come to our Gulf and South Atlantic States to nest, and when the breeding season is over they return to the tropics. Surely, a lower temperature can not be said to compel them to migrate. Even more remarkable than the south- ward journey in the fall is the northward journey in the spring. Our birds leave their winter homes in the tropics in the height of the tropical spring, when insect and vege- table food is daily increasing. They leave this land of plenty for one from which the snows of winter have barely disappeared, often coming so early that unseason- able weather forces them to retreat. I believe that the origin of this great pilgrimage of countless millions of birds is to be found in the existence of an annual nesting season. In my opinion, it is exactly paralleled by the migration of shad, salmon, and other fishes to their spawning grounds, and the regular return of seals to their breeding rookeries. Most animals have an instinctive desire for seclusion during the period of reproduction, and when this season approaches will seek some retired part of their haunts or range in which to bring forth their young. Salmon may travel a thousand miles or more from the ocean, and, leaping the rapids or other barriers in their way, finally reach the headwaters of some river where their eggs may be deposited in safety. Seals migrate with regu- larity to certain islands, where their young are born. Even our domesticated Hens, Turkeys, Ducks, and Pea- fowl, if given freedom, will travel a greater or less dis- Pl^TE XVIII. PAGE 107. AMERICAN OSPBEY. Length, 23-00 inches. Upper parts brownish black ; nape and under parts white ; breast marked with grayish brown. ORIGIN OF MIGRATION. 59 tance in search of a place where they may conceal their nests. Many species of tropical sea birds resort each year to some rocky islet, situated perhaps in the heart of their range, where they may nest in safety. This is not migra- tion as we understand the word ; but, nevertheless, the object is the same as that which prompts a Plover to travel to the arctic regions ; moreover, the movement is just as regular. These sea birds pass their lives in the tropics, their presence or absence in any part of their range being largely dependent upon the supply of food. But, as in the case of the Warbler which migrates from South America to Labrador, they are annually affected by an impulse which urges them to hasten to a certain place. This impulse is periodic, and in a sense is com- mon to all birds. There is a regular nesting season in the tropics, just as there is a regular nesting season in the arctic regions. There is good reason, therefore, for the belief that the necessity of securing a home in which their young could be reared was, as it still is, the cause of migration. It must be remembered, however, that birds have been migrating for ages, and that the present conditions are the result of numerous and important climatic changes. Chief among these is doubtless the Glacial period. In- deed, Dr. Allen has stated, and the theory has been gen- erally accepted, that the migration of birds was the out- come of the Glacial period. Prior to those climatic changes which, beginning in the latter part of the Ter- tiary period, culminated in the ice age, a warm temperate or subtropical climate prevailed in the Arctic regions, and it was not necessary for birds to migrate. Driven southward by the formation of ice, many species doubtless became extinct. As the ice receded birds followed it northward, only to retreat southward each year at the 60 ORIGIN OF MIGRATION. return of winter. Thus the habit of going north in the spring and returning in the fall was eventually formed. As I have said, the existing conditions are the result of changes which have been active for ages. No species, therefore, has acquired its present summer range at one step, but bj gradually adding new territory to its breed- ing ground. For example, certain of our Eastern birds are evidently derived through Mexico, and in returning to their winter quarters in Central America, they travel through Texas and Mexico and are unknown in Florida and the West Indies. Others have come to us through Florida, and in returning to their winter quarters do not pass through either Texas or Mexico. This is best illus- trated by the Bobolink, an Eastern bird which, breeding from New Jersey northward to Nova Scotia, has spread westward until it has reached Utah and northern Mon- tana. But and here is the interesting point these birds of the far West do not follow their neighbors and migrate southward through the Great Basin into Mexico, but, true to their inherited habit, retrace their steps, and leave the United States by the roundabout way of Florida, crossing thence to Cuba, Jamaica, and Yucatan, and win- tering south of the Amazon. The Bobolinks of Utah did not learn this route in one generation ; they inherited the experience of countless generations, slowly acquired as the species extended its range westward, and in return- ing across the continent they give us an excellent illustra- tion of the stability of routes of migration. They furnish, too, an instance of one of the most important factors in migration that is, the certainty with which a bird returns to the region of its birth. This is further evidenced by certain sea birds which nest on isolated islets to which they regularly return each year. Of this wonderful " homing instinct," which plays so XIX. PAGE 109. SHORT-EABED OWL. Length, 15-50 inches. Upper parts black, buff, and rusty ; under parts white and brownish black ; eyes yellow. ORIGIN OF MIGRATION. 61 vital a part in the migration of birds, I have no explana- tion to offer. We know, however, that it exists not only in birds but in many other animals. It is this instinct, aided by the "heredity of habit," which guides a bird to its nesting ground. The Carrier Pigeon is taught its lines of flight by gradually extending its journeys; a species establishes its routes of migration by gradually extending its range. CHAPTEK Y. THE VOICE OF BIRDS.* ASIDE from the pleasure to be derived from the calls and songs of birds, their notes are of interest to us as their medium of expression. No one who has closely studied birds will doubt that they have a language, limited though its vocabulary may be. Song. Song is a secondary sexual character, generally restricted to the male. With it he woos his mate and gives voice to the joyousness of nesting time. In some instances vocal music may be replaced by instrumental, as in the case of the drumming wing-beat of the Grouse, or the bill-tattoo of the Woodpeckers, both of which are analogous to song. The season of song corresponds more or less closely with the mating season, though some species begin to sing long before their courting days are near. Others may sing to some extent throughout the year, but the real song period is in the spring. Many birds have a second song period immediately after the completion of their postbreeding molt, but it usually lasts only for a few days, and is in no sense com- parable to the true season of song. This is heralded by the Song Sparrow, whose sweet chant, late in February, *See Witchell, The Evolution of Bird Song (Macmillan Co.). Bicknell, A Study of the Singing of Our Birds; The Auk (New York city), vol. i, 1884, pp. 60-71, 126-140, 209-218, 322-332; vol. ii, 1885, pp. 144-154, 249-262. 62 PLATE XX. PAGE 110. SCBEECH OWL. Length, 940 inches. Upper parts gray, or bright reddish brown, and black; under parts white, gray, or bright reddish brown, and black; eyes yellow. VOICE OF BIRDS. 63 is a most welcome promise of spring. Then follow the .Robins, Blackbirds, and other migrants, until, late in May, the great springtime chorus is at its height. The Bobolink is the first bird to desert the choir. We do not often hear him after July 5. Soon he is fol- lowed by the Yeery, and each day now shows some fresh vacancy in the ranks of the feathered singers, until by August 5 we have left only the Wood Pewee, Indigo Bunting, and Red-eyed Yireo tireless songsters who fear neither midsummer nor midday heat. Call-Notes. The call-notes of birds are even more worthy of our attention than are their songs. Song is the outburst of a special emotion ; call-notes form the language of every day. Many of us are familiar with birds' songs, but who knows their every call-note and who can tell us what each call means ? For they have a meaning that close observation often makes intelligible. Listen to the calls of the Robin and learn how unmis- takably he expresses suspicion, alarm, or extreme fear ; how he signals cheerfully to his companions or gives the word to take wing. Study the calls of the Crow or Blue Jay, and you will find that they have an apparently ex- haustless vocabulary. It is supposed that birds, like men, do not inherit their language, but acquire it. Thus there are recorded instances of young birds who had been isolated from others of their kind, learning to sing whatever song they heard. On the other hand, it is said that a bird inherits its own notes, at least to some extent, and, while it may not sing the song of its species perfectly, its song will still be sufficiently characteristic to be recognizable. There are, however, very few satisfactory observations on this subject, and keepers of cage-birds have here an excellent opportunity for original investigation. CHAPTER VI. THE NESTING SEASON.* IF you wonld really know birds, you must study them during nesting time. At this season they develop habits that you will be surprised to learn they possess. The humble owner of some insignificant call-note now fills the role of a skilled musician. The graceful, leisurely Marsh Hawk gives vent to his feelings in a series of aerial som- ersaults over the meadows ; the sedate, dignified Wood- cock tries to express his emotions by means of spiral evo- lutions which carry him far above his usual haunts ; the Night-Hawk dives earthward with needless recklessness ; in fact, birds seem inspired by the joy of the season, and all the brightness of a May morning is reflected in their voices and actions. Mating over, there follow the marvels of nest-build- ing with its combined evidences of instinct and intelli- gence. In due time the young appear, and the bird, now a parent, abandons the gay habits of the suitor, and de- votes every waking moment to the care of its young. Time of Nesting. "With most birds the nesting season is periodic and annual. With migratory birds it coin- cides with the season of the year when their summer homes are habitable. But we might suppose that the * Read In Nesting Time, Little Brothers of the Air, and other works by Olive Thorne Miller. A-Birding on a Broncho, by Florence A. Merriam (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.). 34 PLATE XXI. PAGE HI, BARKED OWL. Length, 20 '00 inches. Upper parts blackish brown and white ; under parts white and blackish brown ; eyes black. mm MATING. 65 permanent residents of the tropics, where seasonal changes are less marked, could nest at any time. Nevertheless, the breeding season in the tropics is as well defined as it is in more northern regions, and occurs with the return of summer, or the season of rains. It is therefore at a time of the year when food is most abundant. There is an obvious necessity for this regularity. Old birds can wander over large areas in search of food, but the young of many species must be fed in the nest, and their food supply should be both exhaustless and con- venient of access. Among our birds, the Hawks and Owls, whose young are fed on animal food, are the first birds to nest, while those which feed their young on fruit or insects wait until later in the year. Mating. Birds are ardent lovers. In their effort to win a bride the males display their charms of song and plumage to the utmost, and will even enter the lists to do battle for the possession of a mate. It is not possible to describe here the many pecul- iar customs of birds during the season of courtship. It may simply be said that every bird will then re- pay the closest observation. For the scientific-minded there is opportunity to secure evidence bearing upon the theory of Natural Selection ; for every one there is endless entertainment in the human traits which birds exhibit. The Nest. The first step in nest-building is the selec- tion of a site. There is almost no suitable location, from a hole in the ground to branches in the tree-tops, in which birds may not place their nests. Protection seems to be the chief desideratum, and this is generally secured through concealment. Most birds hide their nests. Many sea birds, however, lay their eggs on the shores or cliffs, with no attempt at concealment ; but, as a rule, 66 BIRDS' NESTS. birds that nest in this manner resort to uninhabited islets and secure protection through isolation. Some birds nest alone, and jealously guard the vicin- ity of their home from the approach of other birds, generally of the same species. Others nest in colonies brought together by temperament or community oi interests, and dwell on terms of the closest sociability. The material used by birds in building their nestk is as varied as the nature of the sites they select. The vegetable kingdom contributes much the largest share. Grasses,, twigs, and rootlets are the standard materials ; but plant-down, plant-fibers, bark, leaves, lichens, clay, spiders* webs, hair, fur, and feathers are also used, while in some cases a gummy secretion of the salivary glands furnishes a kind of glue. Birds have been classified, according to the manner in which they employ these articles, as weavers, tailors, masons, molders, carpenters, felters, etc. Sometimes both sexes assist in the construction of the nest, or one bird collects the material while the other adjusts it. Again, the female performs the task alone, aided only by the encouraging voice of the male. The time of construction varies from one to two weeks to as long as three months in the case of the South American Ovenbird, who in June begins to build the nest it will not occupy until October. The Fish Hawk evidently believes in the value of a stick in time, and often repairs its nest in the fall. Lack of space prohibits a discussion of the influence* which assist in determining the character of birds' nests. They may be summarized as follows : First, necessity for protection. Second, conditions imposed by locality. These affect both the site and material, as illustrated by Doves, who nest in trees in wooded countries and on the ground in PLATE XXII. PAGE 112. YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. Length, 12-25 inches. Upper parts glossy olive-brown; outer tall- feathers black, tipped with white ; under parts white ; lower mandible yellow. BIRDS' NESTS. 67 treeless regions, and by birds who substitute strings, cotton, or rags for their usual nesting materials. Third, condition of the young at birth, whether feathered or naked. The young of what are termed " praecocial " birds are hatched with a covering of downy feathers. Gulls, Ducks, Snipe, Chickens, Par- tridges, and Quails are familiar members of this group. Their young can run about soon after birth, and a well- formed nest is not needed. But the young of " altricial " birds are hatched practically naked and are reared in the nest, which is therefore not only a receptacle for the eggs during incubation, but a home. Thrushes, Sparrows, in fact all Perching Birds, Woodpeckers, Hummingbirds, and many others belong in this group of altricial birds. Fourth, temperament, whether solitary or social. Hawks, fierce and gloomy, nest alone, while the cheery, happy Swallows nest in colonies. Fifth, structure of the bird. The tools that is, the bills and feet of some birds are more serviceable than those of others. We should not expect a Dove to build the woven nest of an Oriole, nor a Hummingbird to fashion a Woodpecker's dwelling. Sixth, feeding habit. In some few cases feeding habit may determine the character of the nest. For instance, Woodpeckers, in securing their food from trees, often make large excavations, which it is quite natural they should have learned to use as nests. Seventh, inherited habit, or instinct. There seems no reason to doubt that birds inherit their knowledge of nest- building, for in several cases where birds have been taken from the nest and reared alone, they have afterward constructed a nest resembling that of their species. It would therefore appear that inherited habit is a fact. Through it we may explain not only the similarity in the nests of the same species, but also certain habits for a 68 BIRDS* EGGS. which we can give no satisfactory reason. Thus the Crested Flycatcher's strange custom of using a cast snake-skin in its nesting materials probably originated with the birds in the tropics, where it is still followed by nearly related species of Crested Flycatchers. With them there may be a reason for this habit, but with our bird, living as it does under entirely different conditions, it is doubtless only an inheritance, surviving even when the necessity for it has ceased to exist. Eighth, change of habit. Some birds are influenced by changes in their surroundings, and alter their nesting habits when it proves to their advantage to do so. Chimney Swifts, who have exchanged hollow trees, in which they were exposed to their natural enemies, for the comparative safety of chimneys, are good examples. But a far better one is given by that prodigy in feathers, the House Sparrow. Is there any available site in which this thoroughly up-to-date bird will not place its nest? It has taken possession of even the hollow spaces about certain kinds of electric lamps, and has been observed repairing its nest at night by their light ! The Eggs. Usually, little time is lost between the completion of the nest and the laying of the eggs. The number of eggs composing what oologists term a full set or clutch ranges from one to as many as twenty. At the time of laying, the ovary contains a large number of partly formed eggs, of which, normally, only the required number will become fully developed. But if the nest be robbed, the stolen egg will frequently be replaced. The long-continued laying of our domestic fowls is an instance of this unnatural stimulation of the ovary. Doubtless the most remarkable recorded case of egg-laying by a wild bird is that of a High -hole or Flicker, who, on being regu- larly robbed, laid seventy-one eggs in seventy -three days ! The eggshell is composed largely of carbonate of lime, PLATE XXIII. PAGE 114. BELTED KINGFISHEB. Length, 13-00 inches. Male, upper parts bluish gray ; under parts white, a bluish-gray breast-band and sides. Female, similar, but breast and sides with reddish brown. BIRDS' EGGS. 69 which is deposited in layers. The final layer varies greatly in appearance, and may be a rough, chalky deposit, as in Cormorants and others, or thin and highly polished, as in Woodpeckers. The colors of eggs are due to pigments, resembling bile pigments, deposited by ducts while the egg is in the oviduct. One or more of the layers of shell may be pig- mented, and variations in the tints of the same pigment may be caused by an added layer of carbonate of lime, producing the so-called " clouded " or " shell markings." While the eggs of the same species more or less closely resemble one another, there is often so great a range of variation in color that, unless seen with the 5 FIG. 24. Egg of (a) Spotted Sandpiper, (J> Catbird, to show difference in size of eggs of praecocial and altncial birds of same size. (Natural size.) parent, it is frequently impossible to identify eggs with certainty. The eggs of prsecocial birds, whose young are born with a covering of down and can run or swim at birth, are, as a rule, proportionately larger than the eggs of altricial birds, whose young are born in a much less advanced condition. This is illustrated by the accom- panying figure of the eggs of the Spotted Sandpiper and the Catbird. The period of incubation is apparently closely depend- ent upon the size of the egg, and varies from twelve days in some Passerine Birds to forty odd in the Ostrich and, it is said, some fifty in the Emu. 70 YOUNG BIRDS. Among some species both sexes share equally the task of incubation. In others, the female is longer on the nest, the male taking her place during a short period each day while she is feeding. Less frequently the female is not at all assisted by her mate, and in some cases Os- triches, Emus, Phalaropes, and a few others the male alone incubates. The Young. The care of the young and their men- tal and physical development afford us unequaled oppor- tunities for the study of bird character. We may now become acquainted not only with the species but with individual birds, and at a time when the greatest demands are made upon their intelligence. We may see the seed-eaters gathering insects and per- haps beating them into a pulp before giving them to their nestlings : or we may learn how the Doves, High-holes, and Hummingbirds pump softened food from their crops down the throats of their offspring. The activity of the parents at this season is amazing. Think of the day's work before a pair of Chickadees with a family of six or eight fledglings clamoring for food from daylight to dark ! But the young birds themselves furnish far more in- teresting and valuable subjects for study. None of the higher animals can be reared so easily without the aid of a parent. We therefore can not only study their growth of body and mind when in the nest and attended by their parents, but we can isolate the young of prascocial birds, such as Chickens, from other birds and study their mental development where they have no opportunity to learn by imitation. In this way students of instinct and heredity have obtained most valuable results.* * Read Lloyd Morgan's Habit and Instinct (Edward Arnold, New York city). PliATB XXIV. DOWNY WOODPECKER. PAGE 115. Length, 6*75 inches. Male, upper parts black and white, nape scarlet ; under parts white. Female, similar, but no scarlet on nape. CHAPTEE VII. HOW TO IDENTIFY BIRDS. THE preceding outline of the events which may enter into a bird's life-history has, I trust, given some idea of the possibilities attending the study of birds in the field. We come now to the practical question of identification. How are we to find birds, and, having found them, how are we to learn their names ? From April to August there is probably not a min- ute of the day when in a favorable locality one can not see or hear birds; and there is not a day in the year when at least some birds can not be found. In the be- ginning, therefore, the question of finding them is simply a matter of looking and listening. Later will come the delightful hunts for certain rarer species whose acquaint- ance we may make only through a knowledge of their haunts and habits. Having found your bird, there is one thing absolutely necessary to its identification : you must see it definitely. Do not describe a bird to an ornithologist as " brown, with white spots on its wings," and then expect him to tell you what it is. Would you think of trying to iden- tify flowers of which you caught only a glimpse from a car window in passing ? You did not see them definitely, and at best you can only carry their image in your mind until you have opportunity to see them in detail. So it is with birds. Do not be discouraged if the books fail to show you the brown bird with white spots 72 HOW TO IDENTIFY BIRDS. on its wings. Probably it exists only through your hasty observation. Arm yourself with a field- or opera-glass, therefore, without which you will be badly handicapped, and look your bird over with enough care to get a general idea of its size, form particularly the form of the bill color, and markings. Then and I can not emphasize this too strongly put what you have seen into your note-book at once. For, as I have elsewhere said, "not only do our memories sometimes deceive us, but we really see nothing with exactness until we attempt to de- scribe it." It is true that all the birds will not pose before your glasses long enough for you to examine them at your leisure, but many of them will, and in following the others you will have all the excitement of the chase. Who knows what rare species the stranger may prove to be! From your description, and what added notes on voice and actions you may obtain, the field key and illustra- tions on the succeeding pages should make identification a simple matter.* You should also take into considera- tion the season of the year when a bird is present, and not call a summer bird by a winter bird's name. The dates of migration given in the following pages will be of assistance here. They refer to the vicinity of New York city, where, in the spring, birds arrive about a week later * The publishers' liberality has resulted in securing bird portraits of unusual excellence. Mr. Seton Thompson is an ornithologist as well as an artist ; his subjects are personal friends. He has spared no effort to make these pictures characteristic life sketches, and I ven- ture to claim that, as a whole, they excel in truth and beauty any bird-drawings ever published in this country. A BIRD'S BIOGRAPHY. 73 than in central Illinois or at Washington, D. 0., and a week earlier than at Boston. In the fall these conditions are reversed. A Bird's Biography. As a further guide to your observation a list of the principal details which enter into a bird's life -history is appended : 1. DESCRIPTION (of size, form, color, and markings). 2. HAUNTS (upland, lowland, lakes, rivers, woods, fields, etc.). 3. MOVEMENTS (slow or active, hops, walks, creeps, swims, tail wagged, etc.). 4. APPEARANCE (alert, pensive, crest erect, tail drooped, etc.). 5. DISPOSITION (social, solitary, wary, unsuspicious, etc.). 6. FLIGHT (slow, rapid, direct, undulating, soaring, sailing, flapping, etc.). 7. SONG (pleasing, unattractive, continuous, short, loud, low, sung from the ground, from a perch, in the air, etc. ; season of song). 8. CALL-NOTES (of surprise, alarm, protest, warning, signaling, etc.). 9. SEASON (spring, fall, summer, winter, with times of ar- rival and departure, and variations in num- bers). 10. FOOD (berries, insects, seeds, etc. ; how secured). 11. MATING (habits during courtship). 12. NESTING (choice of site, material, construction, eggs, incu- bation). 13. THE YOUNG (food and care of, time in the nest, notes, actions flight). From observations of this kind, consisting of a simple statement of facts, you may philosophize according to your nature on the relation between habit and structure, colors and haunts, and intelligent adaptation to new con- ditions. Beware, however, lest you be led to draw faulty conclusions from insufficient observation. Do not make the individual stand for its species, or the species for its family, and remember that one is warranted in theorizing only when the facts in the case are facts indeed. 74: TOPOGBAPHY OF A BIBB. CHAPTEE YHL A FIELD KEY TO OUK COMMON LAND BIRDS. WHEN you have seen a bird with sufficient definite- ness to describe its color, form, and actions, reference to the following key will often prove a short cut to its identity. This key is based only on adult males, who, because of their song, often brighter colors, and greater activity, are far more frequently observed than the females. But, knowing the male, you will rarely, during the nesting season, be at loss to recognize his mate. In order to simplify the key, the water birds, Hawks, and Owls are omitted, in the belief that they will be more readily identified by reference to the plates. The use of the key may be illustrated by the follow- ing example: Let us imagine that you see a Chipping Sparrow (Plate XLY) feeding about your doorstep. You note his size, chestnut cap bordered by white, black bill, brownish, streaked back, and grayish white, un- marked under parts. Turning now to the key, you will see that by exclusion the bird belongs in " Section Y " of the " Third Group," and that it should be placed in subsection " 1 " of this section, which includes birds hav- ing the " under parts white or whitish, all one color, with- out streaks or spots." You have now two subdivisions to choose from "A. Back without streaks or spots," and "B. Back brownish, streaked." Your bird falls under " B," where again you have two subdivisions, " a. Crown rufous or chestnut, without streaks," and " I. Crown not rufous or chestnut." Your bird should be referred to " #," where you will at once find it described under " ' " a.s the Chipping Sparrow. 76 FIELD KEY TO COMMON BIRDS. It should be borne in mind that living birds do not look as long as they really are. The measurement of "length" is taken with the bird's neck and tail out- stretched in a straight line. In life the tail may be raised or drooped, while the neck is drawn in or curved, making the bird look shorter than measurement shows it to be. Remember that the Robin measures ten inches, the House Sparrow six and one-fourth inches, and the Ruby-throated Humming-bird three and three-fourths inches in length, and you will have a basis for comparison. FIRST GROUP. BIRDS THAT FEED ON THE WING FOR LONG INTERVALS OF TIME WITHOUT PERCHING. (Swallows, Swift, Nighthawk, Whip-poor-will!) I. Size large, length over 9-00 inches ; the spread wings over IS'OO inches in extent ; generally seen only late in the afternoon or at dusk. 1. A bird of the air, flying high, often over housetops in cities ; a conspicu- ous white spot in each wing ; note, a loud, nasal peent ; sometimes dives earthward with a booming sound ; May to Oct. . NIGHTHAWK, page 118. 2. Haunts, near the ground, not often observed while feeding ; call, given from a rock, stump, or similar perch, whip-poor-will, vigorously repeated ; Apl. 25 to Oct WHIP-POOR-WILL, page 119. II. Size smaller, length under 9*00 inches ; the spread wings less than 15-00 inches in extent ; may be seen at any time of the day. 1. Plumage entirely black. a. Length 5-50 inches ; plumage sooty black ; usually nests in chimneys ; Apl. 25 to Oct CHIMNEY SWIFT, page 119. b. Length 8-00 inches ; glossy, bluish black ; nests in gourds or houses erected for its use ; Apl. 25 to Sept. . . . PURPLE MARTIN, page 161. 2. Plumage not entirely black ; Apl. to Oct. . SWALLOWS, pages 159, 160. SECOND GROUP. CLIMBING AND CREEPING BIRDS. (Nuthatches, Creepers, Woodpeckers.) I. Birds without stiffly pointed tail-feathers, that climb either up or down. 1. Length 6'00 inches; back gray, cap black, cheeks and under parts white ; note, a nasal yank, yank ; a permanent resident. WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, page 180. FIELD KEY TO COMMON BIRDS. 77 2. Length 4-50 inches; back gray, cap black, a blackish streak through the face ; under parts reddish brown; note, high and thin, like the tone of a penny trumpet ; Sept. to Apl. KED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, page 181. 3. Length 5-25 inches ; upper parts streaked black and white ; note, a thin wiry see- see-see-see ; Apl. 25 to Oct. BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER, page 167. II. Birds with stiffly pointed tail-feathers, that always climb upward. 1. Length 5-65 inches; plumage dull brown and black; size small, bill slender ; an inconspicuous bird who winds his way up the trunks search- ing for insects' eggs, etc. ; note, fine and squeaky ; Sept. 25 to Apl. BROWN CREEPER, page 178. 2. Plumage with more or less white, size larger, bill stouter, chisel-like, often used in hammering. A. Length 9-75 inches ; head red, back black ; flight showing a large white patch in the wing . . . RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, page 116. R Length 12-00 inches; crown gray; a red band on the nape; flight showing a white patch on the lower back and yellow in the wings ; often flushed from the ground ; note, kee-yer . . FLICKER, page 116. C. Length 6-75 inches ; crown black ; back and wings black and white ; note, a sharp peek DOWNY WOODPECKER, page 115. THIRD GROUP. BIRDS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRECEDING GROUPS. (Blackbirds, Orioles, Sparrows, Vireos, Warblers, Thrushes, etc.) SECTION I. With yellow or orange in the plumage. SECTION II. With red in the plumage. SECTION III. With blue in the plumage. SECTION IV. Plumage conspicuously black, or black and white. SECTION V. Birds not included in the preceding sections. I. With yellow or orange in the plumage. 1. Throat yellow. A. Throat and breast pure yellow, without streaks or spots. a. Length 5-10 inches ; cap, wings, and tail black ; back yellow ; song canarylike, sometimes uttered on the wing ; flight undulating, fre- quently accompanied by the notes chic-o-ree, per-chic-o-ree ; a per- manent resident AM. GOLDFINCH, page 148. 6. Length 5-95 inches ; lower belly and wing-bars white ; back olive- green ; frequents the upper branches, generally in woodland ; actions deliberate ; song loud and musical, uttered slowly, often with pauses : u See me ? I'm here ; where are you ? " ; May to Sept. YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, page 165. c. Length 5-25 inches ; cheeks and forehead black, bordered by ashy ; upper parts olive-green ; no wing-bars ; haunts thickets and under- growth ; movements nervous and active ; call -note pit or chuck / song, a vigorous, rapid witch-e-wee-o, witch-e-wee-o ; May to Oct. MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT, page 171 78 FIELD KEY TO COMMON BIRDS. d. Length 7*45 inches ; upper parts olive-green ; no wing-bars ; a whitt line before the eye ; haunts thickets and undergrowth ; song, a strik- ing mixture of whistles, chucks, and caws, sometimes uttered on the wing ; May to Sept YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, page 172. JB. Under parts streaked with reddish brown ; length 5-00 inches ; gen- eral appearance of a yellow bird ; haunts shrubbery of lawns, orchards, second growths, and particularly willows near water; song, rather loud, wee, chee-chee-chee, cher-weie, or chee-cJiee-chee-chM, way-o ; May to Sept. YELLOW WARBLEB, page 168. C. Breast yellow, with a conspicuous black crescent ; length 10*75 inches; haunts fields and meadows, largely terrestrial ; flight quail-like, outer tail-feathers white, showing when on the wing ; song, a loud, musical whistle ; a permanent resident MEADOWLARK, page 136. 2. Throat white. A. With yellow on the sides. a. Length 5-50 inches ; rump yellow ; breast streaked or spotted with black ; tail-feathers marked with white ; note, a characteristic tchip ; Sept. to May, usually rare or local in winter. MYRTLE WARBLER, page 168. b. Length 5*00 inches ; no black on under parts or white in the tail ; yel- low extending along the whole sides ; back olive-green, iris white ; haunts thickets ; call, an emphatic " Who are you, eh ? " ; May to Oct. WHITE-EYED VIRKO, page 165. c. Length 5*25 inches ; tail and wings banded with yellow, showing conspicuously in flight ; haunts woodland ; movements active, much in the air, tail frequently spread; May to Oct. REDSTART, page 169. B. No yellow on sides. a. Length 6'75 inches ; a yellow line from the bill to the eye ; crown black, with a white stripe through its center ; haunts in and about thickets and bushy woodlands ; song, a high, clear, musical whistle ; call-note, chink WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, page 143. b. Length 4-00 inches ; a yellow, or yellow and orange crown-patch, bor- dered by black ; flits restlessly about outer limbs of trees and bushes ; note, a fine ti-ti ; Oct. to Apl. GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, page. 181. 8. Throat neither yellow nor white. A. Length 12-00 inches ; white rump and yellow in wings showing con- spicuously in flight ; a black breast-band ; note, a loud kee-yer. FLICKER, page 116. B. Length 9-00 inches ; crested ; breast ashy, belly yellow ; tail-feathers largely pale brownish red ; haunts upper branches in woodland ; note, a loud questioning or grating whistle ; May to Sept. CRESTED FLYCATCHER, page 123. C. Length 7'50 inches ; throat and head black ; breast, belly, and lower back deep orange ; haunts fruit and shade trees ; song, a loud, ringing whistle ; May to Sept BALTIMORE ORIOLE, page 131. D. Length 7'20 inches ; crested ; grayish brown ; a black line through the eye ; tail tipped with yellow ; generally seen in small flocks ; note thin and weak CEDAR WAXWING, page 16L FIELD KEY TO COMMON BIRDS. 79 H. With red in the plumage. 1. With red on the under parts. A. Throat red. a. Length 7'25 inches ; wings and tail black ; rest of plumage bright scarlet ; call-note, chip-chirr ; May to Sept. SCARLET TANAOEB, page 156. b. Length 6-20 inches ; dull, pinkish red, wings and tail brownish ; fre- quently seen feeding on buds or blossoms ; call-note, a sharp chink^ often uttered during flight ; song, a sweet, flowing warble. PURPLE FINCH, page 149. c. Length 6-20 inches ; dull red or green tinged with red ; mandibles crossed ; generally seen in flocks ; feeds on pine cones. AM. CROSSBILL, page 147. d. Length 5-30 inches; a red crown-cap; back streaked black and brown ; breast rosy ; feeds on. seeds or catkins ; Nov. to Mch. REDPOLL, page 146. B. Throat black. a. Length 8-00 inches; breast rose-red, rest of plumage black and white ; song loud and musical ; call-note, peek ; May to Sept. ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, page 150. d. Length 8*00 inches ; a conspicuous crest ; region about the base of the bill black ; rest of the plumage and bill red ; song, a clear whistle ; resident from New York city southward. CARDINAL, page 153. c. Length 5-40 inches ; wings and tail banded with orange-red, showing conspicuously in flight ; movements active ; much in the air ; tail frequently spread ; haunts woodland ; May to Oct. REDSTART, page 169. 2. No red on the under parts. A. Length 9-50 inches ; black ; shoulders red ; haunts marshes ; migrates in flocks ; Mch. to Oct RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, page 132. B. Length 5-25 inches : crown-cap red ; chin black ; rest of under parts streaked with blackish ; feeds on seeds and catkins ; Nov. to Mch. REDPOLL (im.), page 146. C. Length 4-00 inches ; under parts whitish ; back olive-green ; a ruby crown-patch ; eye-ring white ; movements restless, wings flitted nerv- ously ; call-note. cacJc ; song remarkably loud and musical ; Sept. and Oct. ; Apl. and May RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, page 182. HI. With blue in the plumage. A. Length 11-50 inches ; a conspicuous crest ; upper parts dull blue ; under parts whitish ; a black patch on the breast. BLUE JAY, page 130. B. Length 7-00 inches; upper parts bright blue; under parts cinnamon- brown BLUEBIRD, page 186. C. Length 5*50 inches ; entire plumage indigo-blue ; May to Oct. INDIGO BUNTING, page 152. D. Length 13-00 ; bluish gray ; haunts near water ; feeds on fish, which it catches by darting on them at the surface . KINGFISHER, page 114. 80 FIELD KEY TO COMMON BIRDS. IV. Plumage conspicuously black, or black and white* 1. Black and white birds. A. Throat black. a. Length over 6 00 inches. a*. Entire under parts black; nape buffy; rump white; a musical dweller of fields and meadows ; frequently sings on the wing ; May to Sept BOBOLINK, page 134. a*. Breast rose-red ; rest of the plumage black and white ; song rapid, loud and musical ; call-note, peek ; a tree dweller in rather open woodland ; May to Sept. ROSE-BREASTED GBOSBEAK, page 150. a*. Sides reddish brown; rest of the plumage black and white ; call- note, chewlnJc or towlibe ; inhabits the undergrowth ; often seen on ground scratching among fallen leaves ; Apl. 25 to Oct. TOWHEE, page 151. b. Length under 6-00 inches. ft 1 . Crown black ; cheeks white ; back ashy ; unstreaked ; call, cliick- a-dee, or a musical, double-noted whistle ; a permanent resident. CHICKADEE, page 179. J?. Throat and other parts white or whitish. a. Length 8-50 inches ; upper parts blackish slate-color; tail tipped with white ; a bird of the air, catching its insect food on the wing, and occasionally sallying forth from its exposed perch in pursuit of a pass- ing Crow ; note, an unmusical, steely chatter ; May to Sept. KINGBIRD, page 122. 6. Length 6-90 inches : upper parts washed with rusty ; generally seen in flocks ; terrestrial ; Nov. to Mch SNOWFLAKE, page 147. 2. No white in the plumage. A. Length 19-00 inches ; jet black AM. CROW, page 128. . Length 12-00 inches ; black with metallic reflections ; iris yellowish ; migrates in flocks ; nests usually in colonies in coniferous trees ; voice cracked and reedy; tail "keeled" in short flights; a walker; Mch. to Nov PURPLE GRACKLE, page 133. C. Length 9-50 inches ; shoulders red ; haunts marshes ; call, kong-quer- ree ; Mch. to Oct. RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, page 132. D. Length 7'90 inches ; head and neck coftee-brown ; frequently seen on the ground near cattle ; Mch. to Nov COWBIRD, page 137. V. Birds not included in the preceding sections (that Is, plumage without either yellow, orange, red, or blue; not conspicuously black, or black and white). 1. Under parts white or whitish, all one color, without streaks or spots. A. Back without streaks or spots. a. Back olive-green ; gleaners, exploring the foliage for food or flitting about the outer branches. a*. Length 6-25 inches ; a white line over the eye bordered by a nar- row black one ; cap gray ; iris red : pong, a rambling recitative : " You see it you know it do you hear me ? " etc. ; May to Oct. RED-EYED VIREO, page 164 FIELD KEY TO COMMON BIRDS. 81 a*. Length 5-75 inches ; a white line over the eye not bordered by black ; prefers the upper branches of rows of elms and other shade trees ; song, a rich, unbroken warble with an alto undertone ; May to Sept. WARBLING VIREO, page 165. a>. Length 4-00 inches; no white line over the eye; eye-ring and wing-bars white; a tiny, unsuspicious bird; flits about the outer branches of trees and shrubs ; wings twitched nervously ; note, cack; song, a remarkably loud, musical whistle; Sept. and Oct.; Apl. and May KUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, page 182. 4. Back olive-green or dusky olive ; flycatchers who capture their prey on the wing by darting for it, and while perching are quiet and erect. b l . Length 7*00 inches; frequently found nesting under bridges or about buildings ; crown blackish ; tail wagged nervously ; notes, pee, pee, and pewit-phabe ; Mch. to Oct. . . . PH Black Duck > Wood Duck > and others. All but the last two nest in the North and are found in our latitude only during their spring and fall migrations, or, if the weather be mild, in the winter. The Black Duck and Wood Duck nest rarely in the Middle States. All these birds feed in shallow water by " dabbling " or " tipping," terms which will be readily understood by any one who has watched domesticated Ducks feeding. The Bay and Sea Ducks, on the contrary, are divers, and may descend to the bottom in water more than one hundred and fifty feet in depth. They are to be dis- tinguished from the River Ducks by the presence of a flap or lobe on the hind toe. The commoner members of 90 DUCKS AND GEESE. this subfamily are the Kedhead, Canvasback, Scaup or Broadbill, Whistler, Bufflehead, Old Squaw, Eider, three species of Scoters or " Coots " and Kuddy Duck. These are all northern-breeding birds who visit the waters of our bays and coasts during their migrations or in the winter. The bill in both River and Bay Ducks has a series of gutters on either side which serve as strainers. The birds secure a large part of their food of small mollusks, crustaceans, and seeds of aquatic plants from the bot- tom, taking in with it a quantity of mud, which they get rid of by closing the bill and forcing it out through the strainers, the food being retained. Geese are more terrestrial than Ducks, and, though they feed under water by tipping, often visit the land to procure grass, corn, or cereals, which they readily nip off. The white-faced, black-necked Canada Goose is our only common species. Its long overland journeys, while migrating, render it familiar to many who have seen it only in the air. It migrates northward in March and April and returns in October and November, breeding from the Northern States northward and wintering from New Jersey southward. The two Swans, Whistling and Trumpeter, found in North America, are generally rare on the Atlantic coast. HERONS, STORKS, IBISES, ETC. (ORDER HERODIONES.) HERONS AND BITTERNS. (FAMILY ARDEID^J.) OF the seventy -five known members of this family fourteen inhabit eastern North America. Most of these are Southern in distribution, only six or seven species regularly visiting the Northern States. Their large size PLATE XXVIII. CHIMNEY SWIFT. Length, 6-40 inches. Sooty black, throat grayish. PAGE 119. GREAT BLUE HERON. 91 renders Herons conspicuous, and, though worthless as food, few so-called sportsmen can resist the temptation of shooting at them when opportunity offers. Several of the Southern species, notably the Snowy Heron and "White Egret, are adorned during the nesting season with the beautiful " aigrette " plumes which are apparently so necessary a part of woman's headgear that they will go out of fashion only when the birds go out of existence. One can not blame the plume hunters, who are generally poor men, for killing birds whose plumes are worth more than their weight in gold the blame lies in another quarter. But I have no words with which to express my condemnation of the man who kills one of these birds wantonly. The presence of a stately Great Blue Heron or " Crane " adds an element to the landscape which no Great Blue Heron, work of man c f n e( P aL Its g race f Ardea herodias. form and motion, emphasized by its Plate vi. j ar g e gj^ i s a constant delight to the eye ; it is a symbol of the wild in Nature ; one never tires of watching it. What punishment, then, is severe enough for the man who robs his fellows of so pure a source of enjoyment ? A rifle ball turns this noble creature into a useless mass of flesh and feathers ; the loss is irreparable. Still, we have no law to prevent it. Herons are said to devour large numbers of small fish. But is not the laborer worthy of his hire ? Are the fish more valuable than this, one of the grandest of birds ? The Great Blue Heron breeds throughout North America, but there are now only a few localities in the northeastern States where it may be found nesting. We usually see it, therefore, as a migrant in April and May, and from August to November. The Little Green Heron is the smallest, as the Great Blue Heron is the largest, of our Herons, Its small 92 HERONS. size, preference for wooded regions instead of marshes, and habit of nesting alone, not in flocks, like most Her- Littie Green Heron, ons accounts for its being relatively Ardea mrescens. common. It arrives from the South Plate vi. about April 20, and nests early in "May. The nest, as is usual in this family, is a rude platform of sticks and is placed in a bush or the lower branch of a tree, often overhanging the water. The eggs number from three to six, and in color are pale green- ish blue. The young, although born with a covering of hairlike feathers, are quite helpless and are reared in the nest. Adults have the crown and back dark, glossy green, the neck reddish brown. The notes of this little Heron are a clear whistle and a harsh squawk, uttered when it is frightened. It then seeks refuge by alighting in a distant bush or tree, and with upstretched neck and twitching tail watches the intruder. The Night Heron, or Squawk, doubtless owes its escape from the fate of most Herons to its nocturnal habits. These birds arrive from the "Niglit Heron S utn m April and remain until Oc- A 7 ycticorax nycticorax tober. They nest in large colonies, a rookery not far from New York city being inhabited by at least one thousand pairs. It is in alow, wooded tract, and the nests are built in the trees at an average height of thirty feet. The eggs number four to six, and in color are pale bluish green. At night, while feeding, these Herons are doubtless distributed over a wide area. "When flying, they often utter a loud squawk, the origin of one of their common names. It is a surprising sound when heard near by at night, and has doubtless aroused the curiosity of many persons who live near a line of flight followed by birds in going to and from their nests, PLATE XXIX. PAGE 120. EUBY-THEOATED HUMMINGBIBD. Length, 3-75 inches. Adult male, upper parts metallic green; throat metallic ruby-red ; belly grayish ; sides greenish. Adult female and young, similar, but throat white. AMERICAN BITTERN. 93 The Bittern, or Stake Driver, is a summer resident of our larger marshes, arriving early in April and remaining American Bittern, until October. Though by no means Botaurus Untiginosus. common, its notes are so loud and re- piateVii. markable that even a single calling bird is more likely to attract attention than many smaller abundant species. Under favorable circumstances these notes may be heard for at least three fourths of a mile. They are of two kinds. One is described as the " pump- ing " call, and is generally written pump-er-lunk, pump- er-lunk,pump-er-lunk, while the other is deceptively like the sound produced by driving a stake in the mud. Mr. Bradford Torrey, one of the few ornithologists who has observed the bird while it was uttering these singular cries, tells us (The Auk, vi, 1889, p. 1) that they are attended by violent, convulsive movements of the head and neck, which suggest the contortions of a seasick person, but that the bird's bill is neither immersed in water nor plunged in the mud, as has been popularly supposed. CRANES, BAILS, ETC. (ORDER PALTJDTCOL2E.) RAILS AND COOTS. (FAMILY BALLID^E.) RAILS are marsh-inhabiting birds, more often heard than seen. They are very reluctant to take wing, and when pursued seek safety "by running or hiding rather than by flying. When flushed, they go but a short dis- tance, and with dangling legs soon drop back into the grasses. Of the one hundred and eighty members of this family, fourteen inhabit North America and eight visit the northeastern United States. Only three or four of these, however, are abundant, the most numerous and 94 RAILS AND COOT. generally distributed species being our Sora or Carolina Kail, so well known to sportsmen. This bird passes Sora us in the spring in April and nests from Porzana Carolina. Massachusetts northward. It returns Plate vii. in August and lingers in our wild-rice marshes until October. During the nesting season it has two calls a whistled, leer-wee, and a high, rolling wkinny. In the fall it utters a ~kuk or peep when dis- turbed. There is no sexual difference in color in this species, but birds of the year lack the black about the base of the bill and on the throat, and have the breast washed with cinnamon. Our other species of Eail are the King, Yellow, and Little Black Rail, all of which are rare ; the Virginia Rail, Clapper Kail which is more common, and the Clap- Ralius wepitans. per Rail or Marsh Hen, an abundant Plate vin. species in some of the salt marshes along our coasts from Long Island southward. It is a noisy bird with a peculiar cackling call which it utters in a way that suggests the sound produced by some auto- matic toys. Its nest is made of dried grasses, the surrounding marsh grass being slightly arched over it. Eight to twelve buffy, speckled eggs are laid, a number which, in connection with the abundance of the bird, has led to the persistent robbing of its nests by men who sell the eggs for food. As a result of this practice the birds have greatly decreased in numbers during recent years. The Coot, Mud-hen, or Crow-duck differs from the Rails in having lobed toes (see Fig. 12) and in being American Coot niore aquatic. In fact, it is more like Fuiica americana. a Duck in habits than like a Rail, but Plate viii. itg p i n ted, white-tipped bill will pre- vent its being mistaken for one. PLATE XXX. PAGE 122. KINGBIBt>. Length, 8-50 inches. Upper parts grayish black ; tip of tail and under parts white ; an orange-red crown-patch. Young, similar, but without orange-red in crown. WOODCOCK. 95 It rarely breeds on the Atlantic coast, but is some- times common on our marsh-bordered streams in the fall. SHORE BIRDS. (ORDER LIMICOL2B.) SNIPES AND SANDPIPERS. (FAMILY SCOLOPACIDJE.) THE successful pursuit of shore birds on our coasts requires a special knowledge of their notes and habits. Thirty of the one hundred known species visit us annu- ally, but of this number only two or three nest, most of the others migrating in May to their breeding grounds in the far North. The return migration takes place during July, August, and September, but with some exceptions these birds are seen only by those who hunt them sys- tematically with decoys. Only these exceptions and our summer resident species will be mentioned here. Commonest among the latter is the Woodcock, a bird so unlike other Sni P e in his choice of Daunts that he seems quite out of place in this family. Nor is he, strictly speaking, a summer resident, for there are only three months in the year when the Woodcock is not with us. He comes in March as soon as the frost- bound earth will permit him to probe for his diet of worms, and he remains until some December freeze drives him southward. Low, wet woods, where skunk cabbage and hellebore thrive, or bush-grown, springy runs, are the Woodcock's early haunts. In August, while molting, he often visits cornfields in the bottom lands, and in the fall wooded hillsides are his resorts. But, wherever he is, the Wood- cock leaves his mark in the form of " borings " little holes which dot the earth in clusters, and show where the bird 96 SPOTTED SANDPIPER. has probed for earthworms with his long, sensitive bill, the upper mandible of which, as Mr. Gordon Trumbull has discovered, the bird can use as a finger. The Woodcock's nest is made of dried leaves, and the four large, pear-shaped eggs are buff, spotted with shades of reddish brown. The young are born covered with rich chestnut and buff down, and can run as soon as dry. As a songster the Woodcock is unique among our summer birds. Ordinarily sedate and dignified, even pompous in his demeanor, in the spring he falls a victim to the passion which is accountable for so many strange -attorns in the bird world. If some April evening you visit the Woodcock's naunts at sunset, you may hear a loud, nasal note repeated at short intervals -peent, peent. It resembles the call of a Nighthawk, but is the Woodcock sounding the first notes of his love song. He is on the ground, and as you listen, the call ceases and the bird springs from the ground to mount skyward on whistling wings. He may rise three hundred feet, then, after a second's pause, one hears a twittering whistle and the bird shoots down steep inclines earthward. Unless disturbed, he will probably return to near the spot from which he started and at once resume his peenUng. This, with the twittering note, is vocal ; the whistling sound, heard as the bird rises, is produced by the rapid passage of air through its stif- fened primaries. Our only other common summer resident Snipe is the Spotted Sandpiper. It frequents the shores of lakes, Spotted Sandpiper, P n( l8, and rivers, and is also found Actttis macuiaria. near the sea, but wherever seen may be known by its singular tipping, teter- ing motion, which has given it the names of Tip-up and Teter Snipe. It is also called Peet-weet, from its sharp PliATE XXXI. PAGE 123. CEESTED FLYCATCHER. Length, 9-00 inches. Upper parts browish olive-green; inner vane of tail-feathers rusty ; breast gray ; belly pale yellow. WILSON'S SNIPE. 97 call, rapidly repeated as it flies over the water. After gaining headway it sails for some distance, when its wide- stretched wings show a white bar or band. The Spotted Sandpiper arrives from the South late in April and remains until October. It nests in the lat- ter half of May, laying four pear-shaped eggs, in color white or buff, thickly spotted and speckled with choco- late, chiefly at the larger end. The young, like those of all Snipe, are born with a covering of downy feathers, and can run as soon as dry. The egg is, therefore, large in proportion to the size of the bird, and measures 1/25 by 95 inches. (See Fig. 24a.) Unlike the two preceding birds, Wilson's or the English Snipe is not a summer resident in the Middle Wilson's Snipe, States, but as a rule nests from north- GaiUnago deiicata. ern New England northward, though there are records of its breeding as far south as Connecticut and Pennsylvania. It migrates northward in March and April, and the return journey occurs during September and October. It is not a true shore bird, but frequents fresh- water marshes and mead- ows, and in rainy April weather, when the lowlands be- come more or less flooded, it may be found in places where few persons would think of looking for Snipe. Like the "Woodcock, Wilson's Snipe probes the mud for food, and when on the ground among the grasses its colors and pattern of coloration so closely resemble its surroundings that it is almost invisible. When flushed, it utters a startled scaip, and darts quickly into the air, flying at first in so erratic a manner that it has become famous among sportsmen as a diffi- cult mark. Like the Kighthawk, Wilson's Snipe sometimes dives earthward from high in the air, making as he falls a sound which Minot compares to that produced by throw- 98 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER. ing a nail held crosswise in the hand, though it is louder and more full. This performance is generally restricted to late evening and early morning during the spring, but is occasionally practiced in the fall. Most of our transient visitant Snipe are true shore birds. Many of them are classed as game birds, and have Semipalmated now Become so uncommon that, as Sandpiper, before remarked, it requires a special Ereunete* pusiiiw. knowledge of their ways in order to find them. But there are some species too small to be worthy the sportsman's attention, and they are often numerous on our beaches. They are generally known as Peeps or Ox-eyes, but in books are termed Semipalmated Sandpipers active little fellows, with black, gray and rusty backs and white under parts, who run along the shore, feeding on the small forms of life cast up by the waves. They are sociable birds, and even when feeding the members of a flock keep together, while when flying they move almost as one bird. These Sandpipers visit us in May, when journeying to their summer homes within the Arctic Circle, and return in July, to linger on our shores until October. Their call-note is a cheery, peeping twitter, which probably suggested one of their common names. PLOVERS. (FAMILY CHARADRIIDX) Most Plovers differ from Snipe in possessing three instead of four toes, and in having the scales on the tarsi rounded, not square or transverse. Their bill is shorter and stouter than that of Snipe, and they do not probe for food, but pick it up from the surface. Although several species visit dry fields and uplands, they are ranked as shore birds or bay birds, and, as with Snipe, the species large enough to be ranked as game PLATE XXXH. PAQE 124. PH(EBE. Length, 7-00 inches. Back dusky olive ; crown blackish; under parts white tinged with yellow ; outer margin of outer tail-feathers whitish ; bill black. PLOVERS. 99 have become comparatively rare. Of the one hundred known species, six visit eastern North America the Black-breasted, Golden, Piping, Wilson's, Semipalmated, and Killdeer Plovers. Only the last two of these are common enough to deserve mention here. Killdeer r ^ ne Killdeer, with the exception of ^Egiaiitis votifera. the Piping Plover, is the only bird of Plate XL tllis f am il v that negt8 ^th uga I t ig irregularly distributed in the northeastern States, but its noisy call, Tdldee, Mldee, and striking markings render it a conspicuous bird even where it is uncommon. It fre- quents uplands and lowlands, fields and shores, but prefers the vicinity of water. Its nest of grasses is made on the ground, and its four eggs are whitish, spotted and scrawled with chestnut, chiefly at the larger end. The Semipalmated or Ring-necked Plover looks like a miniature of the Killdeer, but, in addition to other dif - Semipalmated Plover, feren <>es, h only one band on the ^giaiitis breast. The male has the upper parts semipaimata. brownish gray, the under parts, nape, and forehead white, while the breast- band, crown, and cheeks are black. In the female these black areas are brownish gray. This Plover visits our shores and beaches during its northward migration in May and southward migration in August and September. Thanks to its small size, it is not hunted as game, and for this reason is almost as common as the little Peeps or Ox-eyes, with which it often associates. Its call is a simple but exceedingly sweet and plaintive two-noted whistle. THE LAND BIRDS. GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. (ORDER GALLINJE.) BOB-WHITES, GROUSE, ETC. (FAMILY TETEAONID^:.) THIS is the family of the game birds the aristocrats of the bird world. They are protectively colored birds, their rich brown, buff, and black plumage harmoniz- ing with their surroundings. Relying on their incon- spicuousness, they avoid danger by hiding rather than by flight, taking wing only as a final resort. Then, with a startling whir-r-r, they spring into the air, their short, strong wings enabling them to reach their greatest speed within a short distance of the starting point. One of the best-known members of this distinguished family is our familiar Bob-white, the Quail of the North and Partridge of the South. The fact Bob-white, . , . .;? r\ -i T Colinus Virginia,. 18 > he 1S neither a true Quail nor Par- tridge, and those who claim that but one of these names is correct may compromise on " Bob- white." The Bob-white inhabits the eastern United States, and wherever found is resident throughout the year. The sexes are much alike in color, the only important differ- ence being in the throat and the line over the eye, which are white in the male and buff in the female. No bird better illustrates the peculiar potency of bird song, and the hopelessness of attempting to express its charm. If I should describe Bob-white's call to a person who had never heard it, as two ringing notes, do you suppose he would have the faintest conception of what 100 PLATE XXXIII. PAGE 126. WOOD PEWEE. Length, 6-50 inches. Upper parts dusky olive-green ; under parts whitish, washed with dusky ; lower mandible yellowish. BUFFED (fyysfi . J :' V ii : ' ioi they mean to those who love them ? The promise of Spring, its fulfillment in summer, is clearly told in Bob- white's greeting. Then, in the autumn, when the mem- bers of a scattered bevy are signaling each other, their sweet where are you f where are you f is equally associated with the season. The Bob- white nests about May 20, laying from ten to eighteen white eggs in a nest on the ground. The Huffed Grouse, or Partridge of the North and Pheasant of the South, is properly a true Grouse, and Buffed Grouse can no ^ De correctly called either Par- Bona&a umbeiius. tridge or Pheasant. He is a more Plate xii. northern bird than the Bob-white, be- ing found south of Virginia only in the Alleghanies. Kequiring large tracts of woodland for his haunts, he is less generally distributed and not so common as his plump relative. I always associate the Grouse with the astounding roar of wings made by the bird as he springs from the ground at my feet and sails away through the forest. I watch him at first with dazed surprise, then with a keen sense of pleasure in the meeting. One need not be a sportsman to appreciate the gaminess of the Grouse. To find a hen Grouse with young is a memorable experience. "While the parent is giving us a lesson in mother-love and bird intelligence, her downy chicks are teaching us facts in protective coloration and heredity. How the old one limps and flutters ! She can barely drag herself along the ground. But while we are watch- ing her, what has become of the ten or a dozen little yellow balls we almost stepped on ? Not a feather do we see, until, poking about in the leaves, we find one little chap hiding here and another squatting there, all perfectly still, and so like the leaves in color to **> nearly invisible. 102 : ' : l . ; ' :. &$URFING DOVE. The drumming of the Grouse, as described by Mr. Thompson, begins " with the measured thump of the big drum, then gradually changes and dies away in the rum- ble of the kettle-drum. It may be briefly represented thus : Thump thump thump thump, thump ; thump, thump rup rup Tup rup, r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r. The sound is produced by the male bird beating the air with his wings as he stands firmly braced on some favorite low perch." The Kuffed Grouse makes its leaf -lined nest usually at the base of a tree or stump, and the eight to fourteen buff eggs are laid early in May. PIGEONS AND DOVES. (ORDER COLTJMB-ffi.) PIGEONS AND DOVES. (FAMILY COLUMBID^:.) THE three hundred species belonging in this order are distributed throughout most parts of the world, but only two of them are found in the northeastern States. One of these, however, the Wild Pigeon, is now so rare that its occurrence is worthy of note. Less than fifty years ago it was exceedingly abundant, but its sociable habits of nesting and flying in enormous flocks made it easy prey for the market hunter, and, with that entire disre- gard of consequences which seems to characterize man's action when his greed is aroused, the birds were pur- sued so relentlessly that they have been practically ex- terminated. The Mourning or Carolina Dove has happily been more fortunate. Nesting in isolated pairs, and not Monraing Dove, gathering in very large flocks, it has Zenaidura macroura. escaped the market hunter. Plate XIIL This j) ove i s f oun( i throughout the greater part of North America. In the latitude of New York it is a summer resident, arriving in March and PLATE XXXIV. PAGE 126. HOENED LAEK. Length, 7 '75 inches. Upper parts brownish and sandy; front and sides of crown, sides of throat, and breast-patch black ; forehead, line over eye, and throat pale yellow; breast dusky, belly white, tail black, outer feathers margined with white. TURKEY VULTURE. 103 remaining until November. In April we may hear its soft, sweet call, coo-o-o, aJi-coo-o-o coo-o-o coo-o-o, as sad as the voice of the wind in the pines. Although the bird is as beautiful in appearance as it is graceful in flight, it is a surprisingly poor housekeeper. Its platform nest of a few twigs is about as flimsy as any- thing worthy the name can be, and one wonders how even two eggs are kept on it long enough to hatch. In the West the nest is placed on the ground ; in the East, on the lower branch of a tree. Like all the members of their family, Doves immerse the bill while drinking, and do not withdraw it until the draught is finished. The young are fed on softened food regurgitated from the parent's crop. BIRDS OF PREY. (ORDER- RAPTORES.) AMERICAN VULTURES. (FAMILY CATHARTIDJE.) THERE are but eight Yultures in the western hemi- sphere, and only two of these, the Black and the Turkey Vulture, are found in the eastern United States. The former is not often seen north of North Carolina, but the Turkey Vulture, or ' Turkey Buzzard, as it is more frequent- ly called, comes each summer as far as Princeton, N. J., and occasionally strays farther north. The Turkey Buzzard is one of Nature's scavengers, and, as such, is one of the few birds whose services to mankind are thoroughly appreciated. There are others of equal or even greater value who daily earn their right to the good will which we stupidly and persistently refuse to grant them ; but of the Turkey Buzzard's assist- ance we have frequent convincing proof, and the decree has gone forth that injury to this bird is punishable by fine. 104 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. No other birds are so well protected ; and as a result Turkey Buzzards and Black Yultures walk about the streets of some of our Southern cities with the tameness of domes- tic fowls. If we should similarly encourage our insectivo- rous birds, who can predict the benefits which might accrue ? HAWKS, FALCONS, AND EAGLES. (FAMILY FALCONID^E.) To this family belong the diurnal birds of prey, which number some three hundred and fifty species, and are distributed throughout the world. They are birds of strong flight, and capture their prey on the wing by striking it with their sharp, curved claws, the most dead- ly weapons to be found in any bird's armament. The bill is short, stout, and hooked, and is used to tear the prey while it is held by the feet. The voices of Hawks are in keeping with their dis- positions, and, while their lives typify all that is fierce and cruel, no birds are more often wrongly accused and falsely persecuted than our birds of prey. To kill one is regarded as an act of special merit ; to spare one seems to place a premium on crime. Still, these birds are among the best friends of the farmer. There are but two of our common species, Cooper's and the Sharp-shinned, who habitually feed on birds and poultry. Our other com- mon species are, without exception, invaluable aids to the agriculturist in preventing the undue increase of the small rodents so destructive to crops. Any one reading Dr. Fisher's reports on this subject can not fail to be impressed with the array of facts he Red-shouldered presents in proof of the value of these Hawk, birds. For instance, the Red-shoul- Buteo Uneatus. dered Hawk, to which the name Chicken or Hen Hawk is often ap- plied, has been found to live largely on small mammals, PLATE XXXV. P AGE 131, BALTIMORE ORIOLE. Length, 7-50 inches. Male, crown, upper back, and throat black; lower back, outer tail-feathers, breast, and belly rich orange; Female, upper parts mixed black and yellowish, rump and tail dirty yellow ; under parts dusky yellow. BED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 105 reptiles, batrachians, and insects. Indeed of 220 stomachs which were examined of this so-called " Chicken " Hawk, only 3 contained remains of poultry ! Of the rest, 12 contained birds ; 102, mice ; 40, other mammals ; 20, reptiles; 39, batrachians; 92, insects; 16, spiders; 7, crawfish ; 1, earthworms ; 2, offal ; 3, fish ; and 14 were empty.* The usefulness of this Hawk is therefore obvi- ous, and in killing it we can readily see that we not only harm ourselves but render ' an important service to our enemies. Fortunately, this valuable ally is one of our com- monest Hawks, and is with us throughout the year. Its loud scream, ~kee-you, ~kee-you, as it sails about, high in the air, is a familiar summer sound. The " red " shoulder is in reality a rich, reddish chestnut on the lesser wing-coverts, and serves to identify the bird in both immature and adult plumage. The Red-shoulder's nest, like that of most of our Hawks, is constructed of sticks and twigs, with a lining of cedar bark, moss, or some other soft material, and is situated in a tree thirty to sixty feet from the ground. Apparently the same pair of birds re- turn to a locality year after year, sometimes using the same nest, at others building a new one. The eggs are about as large as those of a hen and in color are dull white, more or less sprinkled, spotted, or blotched with cinnamon-brown or chocolate. They are laid early in April, most of the Hawks being early breeders. The young are born covered with white down, but are help- less, and are reared in the nest. The Red-tailed Hawk is also known as the Hen Hawk or Chicken Hawk, but has almost as good a record as * See Fisher, The Hawks and Owls of the United States in their Relation to Agriculture; Bulletin No. 3, Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy, United States Department of Agriculture, 1893. 106 HAWKS. the Red-shoulder, and is equally deserving of protec- tion. He is larger than the Red-shoulder, whom he re- sembles in habits, and has a reddish across the breast when adult. His call is a thin, long-drawn, wheezy whistle, which reminds one of the sound produced by escaping steam. The Marsh Hawk courses to and fro over field and meadow, like a Gull over the water. He never sails, Marsh Hawk, however, but on firm wing flies easily Circus kudsonius. and gracefully, ever on the watch for prey in the grasses below. He may sometimes mistake birds for mice, but he captures far more of the latter than of the former, and only T of the 124 Marsh Hawks whose stomachs were examined by Dr. Fisher had eaten chickens. The Marsh Hawk is migratory, and in winter is not often found north of southern Connecticut. He nests later than the resident Hawks, and, unlike them, builds his nest of grasses on the ground in the marshes, laying from four to six dull white or bluish white eggs early in May. The Sparrow Hawk has a perfectly clean record, as far as chickens go, not one of the 320 whose stomachs Sparrow Hawk were examined by Dr. Fisher, having Faico sparverius. partaken of poultry, while no less than Plate xvi. 215 had eaten insects, and 89 had cap- tured mice. Grasshoppers are the Sparrow Hawk's chief food, and we may often see him hovering over the fields with rapidly moving wings. Then, dropping lightly down on some unsuspected victim below, he returns to the bare limb or stub he uses for a lookout station, uttering an exultant kilty kilty killy as he flies. The Sparrow is distributed throughout the greater part of North America, but in winter is not found north PIRATE XXXVI. PAGE 132. ORCHABD OEIOLE. Length, 7-30 inches. Adult male, crown, back, and throat black, rest of body chestnut. Young male, upper parts olive-green ; throat black, rest of under parts yellowish. Female, similar, but black on throat replaced by yellowish. HAWKS. 107 of southern 'New York. It migrates northward in Feb- ruary and March, but does not nest until May. Unlike our other Hawks, it chooses a hollow tree for a home, often taking possession of a Woodpecker's deserted hole. It lays three to seven eggs, which are finely and evenly marked with reddish brown. It is the Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks who are the real culprits in Hawkdom. They feed almost exclu- Sharp-shinned Hawk, sivel J on birds > and > havin g nce ac- Acdpiter veiox. quired a taste for tender young broilers, Plate xvii. -j-key are a p | o ma k e daily visits to the hen yards. They are less often observed than the Hawks previously mentioned, seeking less exposed perches and soaring comparatively little ; but, when seen, their slen- der bodies and long tails should aid in distinguishing them from the stouter, slower-flying Hawks. As a rule, they are silent. It is difficult to explain the differences between these and other Hawks with sufficient clearness to prevent one's killing the wrong kind, but if the farmer will withhold his judgment against Hawks in general, and shoot only those that visit his poultry yard, he will not go far astray. Cooper's Hawk resembles the Sharp-shinned in color, but is about four inches longer, and its outer tail-feathers are about half an inch shorter than the mi(Mle One8 illStead f bein g f e( l ual length. "With the preceding species it may be known by its slender form, long tail, compara- tively short wings, and long, thin tarsi or " legs." The Chinese and Japanese train Cormorants to fish American Osprey, ^ or ^ em ^ but tne services of these birds Pandion haiiaetus would soon be at a discount if the Plate TvnT^ 5 ' Os P re y could be induced to work for a master. What an inspiring sight it is to see one plunge from the air upon its prey ! One can 108 OWLS. sometimes hear the splash half a mile or more, and the bird is quite concealed by the spray. It is a magnifi- cent performance, and when, after shaking the water from his plumage, he rises into the air, I am always tempted to applaud. The Osprey, or Fish Hawk, as he is also called, adheres closely to a finny diet ; neither flesh nor fowl appears on his menU) and he is consequently a migratory bird, com- ing in April when the ice has melted and remaining until October. In favorable localities he nests in colonies, re- turning year after year to the same nest. One master, it is true, the Osprey has, though he makes a most unwilling servant. The Bald-headed Eagle is often an appreciative observer of the Osprey's Bald Ea le piscatorial powers, which so far exceed Eaiiceetm his own that he wisely, if unjustly, leucocephalus. ^^ bv ^^ p ursuing ^ Qsprey, he forces him to mount higher and higher until the poor bird in despair drops his prize, which the Eagle captures as it falls. Eagles are becoming so rare in the Northern States that their occurrence is sometimes commented on by the local press as a matter of general interest. Nevertheless, no opportunity to kill them is neglected, and the majestic birds who in life arouse our keenest admiration are sac- rificed to the wanton desire to kill. THE OWLS. (FAMILY BUBONID^E.) The Owls number about two hundred species, and are distributed throughout the world. As a rule they are nocturnal or crepuscular birds, passing the day in hollow trees or dense evergreens, and appearing only after nightfall ; but there are some diurnal species, such PLATE XXXVII. PAGE 133. PURPLE GBACKLE. Length, male, 12-50 inches; female, 11-00 inches. Male, head, neck, throat, and breast bright metallic blue, purple, or green ; back with iridescent bars; belly paler; eye pale yellow. Female, much duller OWLS. 109 as the Snowy Owl and Hawk Owl, northern birds that visit us rarely in winter. Because of their nocturnal habits Owls are even more deserving of protection than the beneficial Hawks, for they feed at a time when mice are abroad, and their food consists largely of these destructive little rodents. They capture their prey, like the Hawks, by striking it with their powerful talons, when, if small enough, it is swallowed entire. The indigestible portions, hair, bones, and feathers, are formed into pellets in the stomach and ejected at the mouth. These may always be found in numbers beneath an Owl's roosting place, and form as sure an indication of the Owl's presence as they do of the nature of his food. Thus, as before mentioned, two hundred pellets of the Barn Owl, taken from the home of a pair of these birds in the tower of the Smithsonian In- stitution, were found by Dr. A. K. Fisher to contain the skulls of 454 small mammals. Owls are generally inhabitants of woods, but our Short-eared Owl is an exception to this rule, and lives Short-eared Owl, in lar g e > g ra ssy marshes. It passes the Asia acdpitrinus. day on the ground, but at dusk may be Plate xix. geen flying low over the marsh in search of the meadow mice which form a large part of its food. Dr. Fisher found, on examination of 101 stomachs of this Owl, that no less than 77 contained the remains of mice, convincing proof of its usefulness. Unlike any of our other Owls, the Short-eared makes its nest on the ground, laying from four to seven eggs. It is somewhat irregular in its distribution, but has been found nesting, locally, from Virginia northward. It winters from New Jersey southward, and is sometimes associated in companies at this season. The Long-eared Owl is about the size of the Short- eared Owl, but its " ear-tufts " are an inch or more in HO OWLS. length, and its sides and belly are barred, not streaked, with blackish. It does not frequent marshes, but lives in swampy thickets or dense woods, and Long-eared Owl, ma k es its nest in the abandoned home Ado wilsonianus. , T . of a Crow, Hawk, Or squirrel. It is a permanent resident from at least Massachusetts south- ward. Of our four " horned " Owls, the Long-eared has rela- tively the largest and most conspicuous " ear-tufts," the Short-eared the smallest, while in the Great Horned Owl and Screech Owl the ears are of about the same propor- tionate size. The Great Horned Owl, however, is found only in the wilder, more heavily wooded parts of the coun- try, and is hardly to be included in a list of our common birds. It is the largest of our resident Owls, the males measuring twenty-two inches in length, while its " ear- tufts " are nearly two inches long. The Screech Owl is doubtless the commonest of our Owls, as it is also the most familiar, nesting about and Screech Owl, even m our nollses when some favor* Megascops asio. able hole offers. It has little to say for Plate XX. itself until its family of four to six fuzzy Owlets is safely launched into the world ; then, in July or August, we may hear its melancholy voice not a "screech," but a tremulous, wailing whistle. It has several other notes difficult to describe, and when alarmed defiantly snaps its bill. Some Screech Owls are gray, others bright reddish brown, and these extremes are connected by specimens intermediate in color. This difference in color is not due to age, sex, or season, and is termed dichromatism, or the presence in the same species of two phases of color. The same phenomenon is shown by other birds, notably certain Herons, and among mammals by the gray squir- rel, some individuals of which are black. The observa- 2^ ^H _^^ ^^.--IWtaBSWW ^^^^^^^l IB PLATE XXXVIII. PAOB 134. BOBOLINK. Length, 7-25 inches, ^fo/^, * summer, nape buff ; shoulders and rump whitish ; crown and under parts black. Female, young, and male in winter, sparrowlike ; upper parts black, brownish, and buffy ; under parts yellowish white. BARRED OWL. HI tions of Dr. A. P. Chadbourne apparently show that the Screech Owl may pass from one phase to another without change of plumage.* We do not think of Owls as being insectivorous birds, but Dr. A. K. Fisher tells us that of 225 Screech Owls' stomachs examined, 100 contained insects. As 91 of the remaining 125 contained mice, and poultry was found in only one stomach, the farmer may well consider the Screech Owl a bird of good repute rather than of ill omen. Next to the Screech Owl the Barred Owl is doubtless our most common representative of this family, but its Barred Owl fondness for deep woods prevents its Symium nebuiosum. being known to many who recognize the Plate xxi. Screech Owl's mournful song. In both voice and appearance the Barred Owl seems the most human of our Owls. Its call is a deep-voiced questioning whob-whoo-wJioo, who-whoo, tb-whoo-ah, which may be heard at a distance of half a mile. It echoes through the woods at night with startling force, and the stories told of its effect on persons who were ignorant of its source are doubtless not without foun- dation. Other calls are a long-drawn wkd-d-d-o-ah, and rarely a thrilling, weird shriek. When two or more Owls are together, they sometimes join in a most singular concerted performance. One utters about ten rapid hoots, while the other, in a slightly higher tone, hoots about half as fast, both birds ending together with a whod-ah. At other times they may hoot and laugh in a most remark- able and quite indescribable manner. The Barred Owl feeds largely on mice, and 46 of 100 stomachs examined contained remains of these rodents. * The Auk (New York city), xiii, 1896, p. 321 ; xiv, 1897, p. 33. 112 CUCKOOS. It is generally resident throughout its range, and in March makes its nest, selecting for a site a hollow tree, or the deserted home of a Crow or Hawk. Two to four eggs are laid, which, like the eggs of all Owls, are pure white. CUCKOOS, KINGFISHERS, ETC. (ORDER COCCYGES). CUCKOOS. (FAMILY CUCULIDJE.) ALL Cuckoos have two toes directed forward and two backward, but the cause or use of this character it is dif- ficult to understand, so widely do the members of this family differ in habit. Some are arboreal, never visiting the earth, while others are terrestrial, running with great swiftness, and rarely perching far above the ground. Most Cuckoos all our thirty-five American species have noticeably long tails, which they raise and droop slowly just after alighting, or when their curiosity is aroused. Of the one hundred and seventy-five known species, only two are found in the northeastern States the Yel- Yellow-billed Cuckoo, billed and the Black -biUed Cuckoos. Coccyzus americanus. The former is generally the more corn- Plate xxii. mon. It is a retiring bird, and you will doubtless be first attracted to it by its notes. It does not perch in an exposed position, nor make long flights, but usually flies from the shelter of one tree directly into the protecting foliage of another. If you catch a glimpse of it in passing, its long tail and brownish color will suggest a Dove. Cuckoos are mysterious birds well worth watching. I would not imply that their deeds are evil ; on the con- trary, they are exceedingly beneficial birds. One of their favorite foods is the tent caterpillar which spins the XXXIX. PAGE 136. MEADOWLABK. Length, 10-75 inches. Upper parts black, brown, and buff; under parts yellow, a black crescent on the breast, sides streaked with black ; outer tail-feathers white. KINGFISHERS. 113 destructive " worms' nests " in our fruit and shade trees. Indeed, we should be very much better off if Cuckoos were more numerous. Nevertheless, there is something about the Cuckoo's actions which always suggests to me that he either has just done, or is about to do, something he shouldn't. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo's call begins with a series of tut-tuts or cl-ucks, and ends with a loud cow, cow, cow 9 cow, cow, cow. These notes are so unlike those of any other of our birds, except those of the Black-billed Cuckoo, that they will readily be recognized. The Black-billed Cuckoo resembles the Yellow-bill, but has the bill wholly black, the skin about the eye red, Black-billed Cuckoo an< ^ * ne tail-feathers with only small, Coccyzus inconspicuous whitish tips. It resem- erythropUhaimus. bles ^ Q Yellow-bill in habits, but, as Mr. Brewster tells me, its tut and cluck notes are softer, and the cow-cow notes are connected. Both our Cuckoos are migratory, wintering in Cen- tral and South America. They return to us about May 5, and remain until October. Their nests are carelessly made platforms of sticks with a few catkins added as a lining, and are usually placed in tangles of vine-covered bushes, or the lower limbs of trees. The eggs, three to five in number, are pale, greenish blue, those of the Black-bill being slightly smaller in size and darker in color than those of its yellow-billed cousin. KINGFISHERS. (FAMILY ALCEDINID^.) Of the one hundred and eighty known Kingfishers, only eight are inhabitants of the ISTew World, the head- quarters of the family being in the East Indies. The IsTew World species are mostly tropical, and but one of the eight reaches the eastern United States. This is our common WOODPECKERS. Belted Kingfisher, familiar by voice and appearance to every one who lives near a river or pond. He comes Belted Kingfisher, ^ n April, when the ice no longer cov- CeryU alcyon. ers his hunting ground, and remains Plate xxiii. until November; or, if the season be exceptionally mild, he sometimes stays for the winter fishing. His nest is built in a hole in a bank, where, early in May, his mate lays from five to eight white The Kingfisher is generally branded a fish thief and accounted a fair mark for every man with a gun, and, were it not for his discretion in judging distances and knowing just when to fly, he would long ago have disap- peared from the haunts of man. We might now be a few fish richer, but would they repay us for the loss of this genius of wooded shores ? WOODPECKERS AND WRYNECKS. (ORDER PICL) WOODPECKERS. (FAMILY PICID^E.) THE three hundred and fifty known species of Wood- peckers are represented in all the wooded parts of the world except the Australian region and Madagascar. Nearly one half this number are found in the New World, and of these twenty -five occur in North America. Few birds seem better adapted to their mode of life than Woodpeckers, the structure of their bill, tongue, tail, and feet being admirably suited to their needs. The notes of Woodpeckers can not be termed musical, and their chief contribution to the springtime chorus is a rolling tattoo which resembles the Jc-r-r-r-rmg call of the tree frogs. The feathered drummer selects a resonant limb and pounds out his song with a series of strokes de- PLATB XL. PAGE 137. COWBIRD. Length, 7-90 inches. Male, head and neck all around dark coffee- brown ; rest of plumage glossy greenish black. Female, dirty brown- ish gray ; throat whitish. WOODPECKERS. 115 livered so quickly that his head becomes a series of mazy heads. Watch the Downy Woodpecker, our commonest species, while he is engaged in this surprising perform- Downy Woodpecker, ance> H W Jie seems to en JJ ^ His Dryobates pubescens whole appearance is martial and defi- medianus. an t. It is his challenge to the Wood- pecker world. After each roll he looks proudly about him and perhaps utters his call-note, a sharp peek) peek, which suggests the sound produced by a marble cutter's chisel. More rarely this call is pro- longed into a connected series, when one can readily imagine that the quarrier has dropped his tool. The Downy is a hardy bird and is with us throughout the year. In the winter he forms a partnership with the Chickadee and Nuthatch, and if the good this trio does could be expressed in figures, these neglected friends of ours might receive some small part of the credit due them. Who can estimate the enormous numbers of in- sects' eggs and larvae which these patient explorers of trunk and twig destroy ? The Downy, as well as some other Woodpeckers, be- lieves in the comfort of a home. He will not pass cold, wintry nights clinging to the leeward side of a tree when by the use of his chisel -bill he can hollow a snug chamber in its heart. So, in the fall, we may sometimes find him preparing his winter quarters. His nest is constructed in the same manner, and his eggs, like those of all Wood- peckers, are glossy white. The Hairy Woodpecker, the Downy's big cousin, is not quite so common as his smaller relative - Tne tw birds are nearlv alike in color, and differ only in the mark- ings of the outer tail-feathers. In the Downy these are white, barred with black; in the Hairy, white without 9 116 WOODPECKERS. black bars. The case is interesting, and shows how nearly alike in color distinct species may be. In size, however, the difference is more noticeable, the Hairy being nearly three inches the longer. In life the Hairy is a somewhat shier bird, fonder of the forest than of the orchard. TLiapeek note is louder and sharper than that of the Downy, and his rattling call suggests that of the Kingfisher. The gayly colored Ked-headed Woodpecker is as erratic in his goings and comings as he is striking in dress. In the northeastern States he is Bed-headed Woodpecker. l ca Hy common in summer, and if well supplied with beechnuts, may remain durin the winter - Some vears tne grayish headed young birds are excep- tionally abundant in the fall, but their white wing-patch- es, which show so conspicuously when they fly, and their loud, rolling call of Jcer-r-ruck, Jcer-r-ruck, are unmistak- able marks of identity. The most interesting of our Woodpeckers is the Flicker, or High-hole, whose popularity is attested by Flicker ^is list of no less than thirty odd com- Coiaptes auratus. mon names. Surely here is an instance Plate xxvi. illustrating the necessity of one sci- entific term by which the " Piquebois jaune " of Louisi- ana may be recognized as the " Clape " of New York. He is also a Tucker, a Flicker, and a Yellow-ham- mer ; all these names being based on his notes or plu- mage. The Flicker is less of a carpenter than are others of hie family, and generally selects decayed logs and stumps as his hunting grounds. Here he hunts for his favorite food of ants, which he also procures at their holes and mounds. This is the reason we so often flush the Flicker from the ground, and, if we mark the spot from which he PLATE XLI. PAGE 138. SONG SPARROW. Length, 6-25 inches. Upper parts chestnut, gray, and black; under parts white, streaked with chestnut and black ; outer tail-feathers shortest. GOATSUCKERS. 117 rises, the probabilities are that we shall find there a much- disturbed community of ants. Professor Beal has shown that nearly one half of the Flicker's food consists of ants. He further tells us that as ants aid in the increase of the plant lice so injurious to vegetation, the birds which feed on ants are therefore the friends of the agriculturist. The Flicker's most prominent marks, as with a low chuckle he bounds up before you, are his white rump patch and his wings, which show yellow in flight. His notes are equally characteristic. The most common is a loud, vigorous kee-yer, apparently a signal or salute. In the spring, and occasionally in the fall, he utters a pleas- ing, rather dreamy cuh~cuh-cuh-cuh, many times repeated. When two or more birds are together, and in my ex- perience only then, they address each other with a singular weechew, weechew, weechew, a sound which can be imitated by the swishing of a willow wand. Much ceremony evidently prevails in the Flicker family, and on these occasions there is more bowing and scraping than one often sees outside of Spain. GOATSUCKERS, SWIFTS, AND HUMMINGBIRDS. (ORDER MACROCHIRES.) NlGHTHAWKS AND WHIP-POOR-WILLS. (FAMILY CAPRIMULGIDJE.) IN this family the mouth of birds reaches its greatest development, while the bill proper is correspondingly small, bearing much the same relation to the mouth that a clasp does to a purse. These birds feed at night upon injects which they catch on the wing, and their enormous gape is obviously of great assistance in this mode of feed- ing. Often the sides of the mouth are beset with long 118 NIGHTHAWK. bristles, which doubtless act like the wings to a fish-net, steering unfortunate insects down the bird's cavernous throat. The Mghthawk, or Bull-bat, as he is called in the South, is familiar to most persons who have the gift of seeing birds, but in the northeastern States, at least he is usually confused w ith the Whip-poor-will, and little is Plate XXVII. , /. -, . -> , known of his real character. The Nighthawk is a bird of the sky. He passes the day perched motionless on a limb in wooded regions, on the ground in treeless regions, or even on a house top, when, as sometimes happens, he makes his home in a city. Probably he will not change his perch during the day, but as night approaches and his day begins, he will spread his long wings and fly away heavenward to course far above the earth in his search for insect food. The Mghthawk, unlike most members of its family, has limited vocal powers, its only note being a loud, nasal peent uttered as it flies. But it has musical talents in another direction. Sometimes in May or June, if you happen to be where Nighthawks are found for they are rather local in distribution when nesting you may hear a strange booming, rushing sound ; you will vainly seek its cause until you chance to see a Mghthawk with set wings diving earthward from the sky. It is a reckless performance, and you may suppose the bird's object is suicidal, but, when within a few yards of the earth, it will turn suddenly upward. At this moment you will hear the loud, humming sound, doubtless made by the air passing through the bird's stiffened wing-quills. Nighthawks, being insect-catchers, are of course highly migratory. They come to us early in May, and return to their winter quarters in South America in Oc- PLATE XLII. PAGE 139. SWAMP SPARROW. Length, 5-90 inches. Summer plumage, crown bright chestnut; bacfc black, brown, and buff ; breast grayish ; belly white ; sides brownish. Winter plumage, similar, but crown streaked with chestnut-brown, black, and gray. CHIMNEY SWIFT. 119 tober. During the fall migrations they often gather in flocks of several hundred, and as they sail about you may notice their best field mark, a white spot in each wing. Nighthawks lay two elliptical, mottled eggs on the bare ground or a flat rock in open fields, and, rarely, on a house top in the city. We see the Nighthawk and hear the Whip-poor-will ; one reason perhaps why the birds are so often confused. Whip-poor-will While the .Nightha wk is darting through Antrostomusvotiferus. the sky, the Whip-poor-will is perched Plate xxvii. on a roc k or f ence ra ji below, indus- triously whipping out a succession of rapid whip-poor- wills interspersed with barely audible chucks. When the call ceases, the bird is doubtless coursing low through the wooded fields and glades in its search for insects. During the day the Whip-poor-will usually rests on the ground in the woods. Here also the eggs are laid, being deposited upon the leaves. They are two in num- ber, dull white, with delicate, obscure lilac markings and a few distinct brownish gray spots. Whip-poor-wills arrive from the south late in April, and remain with us until October. SWIFTS. (FAMILY MICROPODID^.) SWIFTS are the most aerial of all the small land birds. Our Chimney Swift, the only one of the seventy-five CMmney Swift, members of this family that occurs in Chcetura peiagica. eastern North America, is but five and Plate XXVIII. a half incheg lon& while itg gpread wings measure twelve and a half inches from tip to tip. Its feet are proportionately small, and so weak that the bird can rest only by clinging to an upright surface. The tail is then used as a prop, its spiny-tipped feathers being evidently a result of this habit. 120 HUMMINGBIRDS. Swifts naturally nest in hollow trees or caves, and it is only in the more densely populated parts of their range that they resort to chimneys and outbuildings. The nest of our Chimney Swift is a bracketlike basket of small twigs. They are gathered by the bird while on the wing, and are fastened together and to the wall of the tree or chimney with a glutinous saliva. The Chimney Swift arrives from the south about April 20, and remains until October. Few birds are better known, and under the name of " Chimney Swal- low" he is familiar to every one who distinguishes a Crow from a Kobin. But, beyond similar feeding habits, Swifts have little in common with Swallows ; in fact, are more nearly related to Hummingbirds. HUMMINGBIRDS. (FAMILY TROCHILID^.) HUMMINGBIRDS are peculiar to the New World. About five hundred species are known, but only one of them is Ruby-throated found east of the Mississippi. This is Hummingbird, our Kuby -throat, the sexes of which are TrocUius coiubris. sometimes thought to represent differ- ent species. The Euby -throat winters as far south as Central America, but about May 1 we may expect him to return to us, for he is as regular in his migrations as though his wings measured a foot and a half instead of an inch and a half in length. If you would have him visit you, plant honeysuckle and trum- pet flowers about your piazza, and while they are bloom- ing there will be few days when you may not hear the humming of this tiny bird's rapidly vibrating wings. The Euby -throat feeds on insects as well as on the juices of flowers, and when you see him probing a corolla he is quite as likely to be after the one as the other. The young are fed by regurgitation, the parent bird insert- PLATE XLIII. FIELD SPAKROW. PAGE 140. Length, 5-70 inches. Upper parts bright reddish brown and black; under parts grayish white ; bill reddish brown. FLYCATCHERS. 121 ing its bill into the mouth of its offspring and injecting food as though from a syringe. Some tropical Hummingbirds have songs worthy the name, but the notes of our Kuby-throat are a mere squeak, sometimes prolonged into a twitter. Under any circumstances a Hummingbird's nest ex- cites admiration. But if you would appreciate its f airylike beauty, find one where the birds have placed it, probably on the horizontal limb of a birch. Doubtless it will be occupied by the female, for it seems that the male takes little or no part in family affairs after incubation begins. As far as known, all Hummingbirds lay two white eggs frail, pearly ellipses, that after fourteen days' incuba- tion develop into a tangle of tiny dark limbs and bodies, which no one would think of calling birds, much less " winged gems." PERCHING BIRDS. (ORDER PA8SERES.) FLYCATCHERS. (FAMILY TYRANNID^E.) DOUBTLESS, every order of birds has had its day when, if it was not a dominant type, it was at least sufficiently near it to be considered modern ; and as we review what is known to us of that great series of feathered forms, from the Archseopteryx to the Thrushes, we can real- ize how varied has been the characteristic avifauna of each succeeding epoch from the Jurassic period to the present. "Now has come the day of the order Passeres, the Perching Birds; here belong our Flycatchers, Orioles, Jays, Sparrows and Finches, Yireos, Swallows, Warblers, Wrens, Thrushes, and many others. A recent authority classifies birds in thirty-four orders, but fully one half of 122 KINGBIRD. the thirteen thousand known species are included in the single order Passeres. The North American members of this order are so alike in more important structural details that they are placed in but two suborders, the suborder Clamatores, containing the so-called Songless Perching Birds, and the suborder Oscines, containing the Song Birds. The Flycatchers are the only members of the suborder Clamatores in Eastern North America. They differ from the Osdnes, or true Song Birds, in always having ten fully developed primaries, in having the tarsus rounded behind as well as in front, and chiefly in the anatomy of the syrinx, or voice-producing organ. In the Oscines this possesses four or five distinct pairs of intrinsic muscles, while in the Clamatores it has less than four pairs of muscles, and is not so highly developed. Flycatchers are the Hawks of the insect world. Their position when resting is erect, and they are constantly on the watch for their prey, which is captured on the wing, with a dexterity Hawks may well envy. The bill is broad and flat and the gape large, as in other fly-catching birds. After darting for an insect, as a rule, they return to the same perch, a habit which betrays their family affinities, though it is occasionally practiced by some other birds. Among our Eastern Flycatchers the Kingbird un- doubtedly deserves first rank. In books he is sometimes Kingbird, called the Tyrant, but the name is a Tyrannus tyrannus. libel. The Kingbird is a fighter, but Plate xxx. kg s no f. a bully, and gives battle only in a just cause. His particular enemy is the Crow, and during the nesting season each Kingbird evidently draws an imaginary circle about his home within which no Crow can venture unchallenged. From his lookout on the topmost branch of a neighboring tree the Kingbird darts forth at the trespasser, charging him with a spirit PLATE XLIV. PAGE 141. VESPBB SPABBOW. Length, 6-10 inches. Upper parts grayish, black, and brown ; breast and sides streaked with black and brown; belly white; lesser wing- coverts chestnut ; outer tail-feathers more or less white. CHESTED FLYCATCHER. 123 and fearlessness which no bird can withstand. It is a case of " right makes might," added to a very dexterous use of wings and bill. The Crow, if he be experienced, turns tail at once and, beyond protesting squawks, makes no attempt to defend himself. But the Kingbird is deaf to pleas for mercy ; he too has had experience, and well knows that only his own watchfulness has saved his eggs or young. Far in the distance he relentlessly pursues his foe, leaving him only when he has administered a lesson which will not be forgotten. Then he returns to his post and, with crest erect and quivering wings, gives voice to cries of victory. Bee-keepers accuse the Kingbird of a taste for honey- bees, but the examination, made by Prof. Beal, of two hundred and eighteen Kingbirds' stomachs shows that the charge is unfounded. Only fourteen stomachs con- tained remains of bees, most of which were drones, while sixty per cent of the Kingbirds' food was found to con- sist of injurious insects. Kingbirds winter in Central and South America, re- turning to us in the spring about May 1, and remaining until September. Their nest is a compact, symmetrical structure of weed stalks, grasses, and moss, lined with plant down, fine grasses, and rootlets, and is usually placed at the extremity of a limb about twenty feet from the ground. The eggs, three to five in number, are white, spotted with chocolate. The Crested or Great Crested Flycatcher is, as a rule, not so common as the Kingbird, and its habits prevent it Crested Flycatcher, ^ rom being so easily observed. King- MyiarcTius crinitus. birds can be seen whenever heard, but you may hear the Greatcrest's whistle many times before you see the whistler. Generally he lives in the woods high up in the trees, but he is also found in old orchards. His call, like an exclamation, 124: PHCEBB. rings out above all other birds' notes. What ! lie seems to say, and, as though hearing something which not only surprised but amused him, follows this call with a chuck- ling whistle. The Greatcrest arrives from the south about May 7, and remains until September. Nesting is begun early in June, a hollow limb being the home usually selected. In collecting its nesting materials, the bird displays a very singular trait, and gives evidence of the stability of habit. With rare exceptions it places a bit of cast snake-skin in its nest. Various reasons have been advanced to account for this singular habit, but none of them is satisfactory. Recently Lieutenant Wirt Robinson has discovered that one of the commonest and most generally distributed spe- cies of this genus in South America places cast snake-skin in its nest, and it is well known that the Arizona Crested Flycatcher follows the same custom. The habit is there- fore widespread, and is common to birds living under greatly varying conditions. Rather than consider it of especial significance in each species, it seems more reason- able to believe that it is an inheritance from a common ancestor, and has no connection with the present sur- roundings of at least those species living so far from the center of distribution of this tropical genus as our Myi- archus crinitus. The Phoebe is domestic ; he prefers the haunts, or, at least, handiwork of man, and when not nesting on a beam Phoebe * n a barn, shed, or piazza, selects the Sayornis phcebe. shelter of a bridge for a home. Here Plate xxxii. h e pi aces his nest of moss and mud ; a structure of generous proportions, for the Phoebe's family may number five or six. Flycatchers, because of the nature of their food, usu- ally make extended migrations. For the same reason they arrive late in the spring and depart early in the PLATE XLV. P AOE 142 . CHIPPING 8PAEEOW. Length, 5-35 inches. Summer plumage, forehead black ; crown bright chestnut ; back black, brown, and gray ; under parts grayish white ; bill black. Winter plumage, similar, but crown like back ; bill brownish. FLYCATCHER. fall ; but the Phoebe is an exception to this rule. Not only does he winter north of the frost line, but he comes to us as early as March 20 and remains until October. The Phoebe owes his name to his song of pewit-phoebe, pewit-plioebe^ a humble lay uttered between vigorous wags of the tail. This tail-wagging is a characteristic mption, and also accompanies the Phoebe's call-note, pee^ pee, which it utters at intervals. The Least Flycatcher shares the Phoebe's preference for the vicinity of houses and is most often found nesting in our shade or fruit trees. The nest, unlike the Phoebe ' s > is com p sed of plant-down, fibers, and rootlets, and is placed in the crotch of a tree. The eggs resemble the Phoebe's in being white. It is difficult to describe our smaller Flycatchers so that even when in the hand they may be satisfactorily identified, and it is quite impossible to describe them so that from color alone they may be recognized in the field. Fortunately, the calls of our commoner species are so unlike that, when learned, there will be no difficulty in naming their authors. To say that the Least Flycatcher is five and a half inches long, olive-green above and grayish white below, does not aid one in distinguishing it from several of its cousins ; but when I add that its call is a snappy chebec, chebec, the bird will be known the first time it is heard. It is this call which has given the bird its common name. The Chebec comes to us in the spring, about April 25, and remains until September. You will rarely find two members of the same family with more different dispositions than those of the King- bird and Wood Pewee. Their natures might symbolize war and peace, so combative is the Kingbird, so gentle the 126 WOOD PEWEE. Pewee. As so often happens among birds, their voices are in keeping with their temperaments. The soft, Wood Pewee dreamy pee-a-wee or pee-a-wee peer of Contopus mrens. the Pewee is as well suited to its char- Plate xxxin. acter as the harsh, chattering cries of victory are to the Kingbird's. The Pewee is the last of our more common Fly- catchers to come from the South, arriving about May 10, and, like the Chebec, remaining until October. It is less social than either the Chebec or the Phoabe. Forests are its chosen haunts, but occasionally it is found on well- shaded lawns and roadsides. The Pewee' s nest rivals the Hummingbird's in beauty. It is a coarser structure, composed of fine grasses, rootlets, and moss, but externally is thickly covered with lichens. Usually it is saddled on a limb from twenty to forty feet above the ground. The eggs, three or four in number, are white, with a wreath of dark brown spots around the larger end. LARKS. (FAMILY ALAUDID.E.) This family contains the true Larks, birds with long hind toe nails, and a generally brown or sandy colored plumage, the Skylark being a typical species. There are some one hundred species of Larks, but of these only the Horned Lark and its geographical varieties are found in this country. The variation in color shown by the Horned Lark throughout its range is remarkable. From the Mexican Horned Lark tableland northward to Labrador and otocoris aipestris. Alaska no less than eleven different Plate xxxiv. geographical races are known, each one reflecting the influence of the conditions under which it lives, and all intergrading one with another. Only two of PfcATB XLVI. PAGE 143. WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. Length, 6-75 inches. Adult, lores and bend of wing yellow; crown black and white; back chestnut-brown, black, and bfff; throat white; breast and sides grayish; belly white. Young, similar, but crown more like back; yellow markings duller. HORNED LARK. 127 these races are found in the eastern United States, the Horned Lark and. the Prairie Horned Lark. The former visits us in the winter; the latter occurs at all seasons, but during the summer is found only in certain regions. At this season it inhabits the upper Mississippi Yalley, whence it extends eastward through northwestern Penn- sylvania and central New York to western Massachu- setts. From October to April it may be found with the Horned Lark as far south as South Carolina. The two birds differ in size and color. The Horned Lark's wing averages 4'27 inches in length, the Prairie Lark's wing averages but 4*08 inches in length ; the former's forehead and eye-line are yellow, the latter's white. Horned Larks are eminently terrestrial, rarely if ever choosing a higher perch than a fence. When on the ground they do not hop, but walk or run. When flushed they take wing with a sharp, whistled note, but often return to the place from which they started. When nesting, they may be found in fields, pastures, and plains in scattered pairs, but during the winter they are asso- ciated in flocks, which resort to the vicinity of the sea- coast or large open tracts in the interior. The nest is, of course, built on the ground. The eggs, three or four in number, are pale bluish or greenish white, minutely and evenly speckled with grayish brown. The Horned Lark, like its famous relative and many other terrestrial species, sings while on the wing, soaring high above the earth, and often repeating its song many times before alighting. The effort is worthy of better results, for the bird's song is simple and unmusical. 128 CROWS AND JAYS. CROWS, JAYS, ETC. (FAMILY There are systematists who think that the members of this family should hold the place usually assigned the Thrushes, at the head of the class Aves. Leaving out of the case anatomical details whose value is disputed, we might object to a family of songless birds being given first rank in a group whose leading character is power of song. But while Crows and Jays may, from a musical standpoint, be considered songless, no one can deny their great vocal powers. Song, after all, does not imply high rank in bird-life, and some of the sweetest singers (among others, some Snipe, and the Tinamous and Wood Quail of South America) are not members of the suborder of Song Birds. If, however, the relative intelligence of the two fam- ilies be taken into account, there can be no doubt that Corvidm fully deserve to be considered the most highly developed of birds. How many tales are told of the human actions of the Haven, Rook, Jackdaw, Magpie, Jay, and Crow ! Of the two hundred members of this family, six in- habit eastern North America, by far the most common being the Crow. No one of our birds is better known > and stm > kow ^rant we are of his ways ! I am not sure that he does not know more about ours. We have not even recorded his notes, for, in spite of the current opin- ion that the Crow's calls are restricted to w, he has an extended vocabulary. I am not aware that he ever ascends to the height of a love song, but that he can converse fluently no one who has listened to him will question. Of the variants of caw, each with its own significance, there seems no end 5 but if you would be XLVII. PAGE 144. FOX SPARROW. Length, 7-25 inches. Upper parts, wings, and tail bright reddish brown ; back and head mixed with a browner ( iolor ; under parts white and bright reddish brown. AMERICAN CROW. 129 impressed with the Crow's eloquence you must hear him when, in the fancied privacy of his own nock or family, he discusses the affairs of the day. His notes then are low, and so varied in tone that one can not doubt their conversational character. During the winter Crows assemble in large flocks containing many thousand individuals, who nightly re- turn to some roost, which perhaps has been frequented for years. In March they begin to pair and the nest is constructed early in April. It is a bulky affair of sticks, lined chkily with grapevine bark, and is placed in a tree, usually about thirty feet from the ground. The four to six eggs are bluish green, thickly marked with shades of brown. Crows share with Hawks the reputation of being harmful birds. That they do much damage in the corn- field is undeniable, but, after the examination of nine hundred Crows' stomachs, Dr. Merriam, of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, states that the amount of good done by the Crow in destroying grasshoppers, May beetles, cutworms, and other injurious insects, exceeds the loss caused by the destruction of corn. Moreover, if the corn be tarred before planting, the Crows will not touch either the kernel or young sprout. The corn should first be soaked in water overnight, and then placed in a vessel containing enough soft tar to coat each kernel. It should then be rolled in plaster of Paris or wood ashes, so that it can be more easily handled.* The Blue Jay, in his uniform of blue and white, is so brightly colored, so large (he is nearly twelve inches in length), and often so noisy, that every one knows him. * See Barrows and Schwarz, The Common Crow, Bulletin No. 6, United States Department of Agriculture, Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy. 130 BLUE JAY. Like the Crow, lie is with us throughout the year. Dur- ing the summer he is not very common, and is remark- ably quiet, but in September and Octo- Blue Jay, |_ )er m ]g ran t s arrive from the North, and Cyanocitta cristata. , ' the birds are then abundant in bands. These bands roam about the country like a lot of school- boys out chestnutting, pausing vherever they find acorns and chestnuts abundant, or leaving their feast to worry some poor Owl whose hiding place they have discovered. The Blue Jay's best friend could not conscientiously call him a songster, but as a conversationalist he rivals the Crow. I have yet to discover a limit to his vocab- ulary, and, although on principle one may ascribe al- most any strange call to the Blue Jay, it is well to with- hold judgment until his loud, harsh jay ! jay ! betrays the caller's identity. Not content with a language of his own, he borrows from other birds, mimicking their calls so closely that the birds themselves are deceived. The Red-shouldered, Red-tail, and Sparrow Hawks are the species whose notes he imitates most often. The Blue Jay nests in the latter part of May, build- ing a compact nest of rootlets in a tree ten to twenty feet from the ground. The eggs are pale olive-green or brownish ashy, rather thickly marked with varying shades of cinnamon-brown. ORIOLES, BLACKBIRDS, ETC. (FAMILY ICTERID^E.) The popular names of many of our birds were given them by the early colonists because of their fancied re- semblance to some Old World species. The fact that Bome of these names are incorrect and misleading has been pointed out scores of times, but they are now as firmly fixed as the signs of the zodiac. PLATE XLVIII. JUNCO. PAGE 145. Length, 6*25 inches. Male, upper parts, throat, and breast slate-color ; belly and outer tail-feathers white. Female, similar, but plumage more or less washed with brownish. BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 131 Thus the Robin is not a Robin but a true Thrush, the Meadowlark is not a Lark but a Starling, and the Orioles are not Orioles at all, but members of a distinc- tively American family having no representatives in the Old World. This family contains one hundred and fifty species, of which nearly one third belong in the genus Icterus. The prevailing colors of the birds of this genus are orange and black, hence their resemblance to the true Orioles (genus Oriolus) of the Old World. Our Baltimore Oriole is a worthy representative of a group remarkable for its bright colors. It is to these Baltimore Oriole, same c l rs tnat tne bird owes not only Icterus gaibuia. its generic but its specific designation, Plate xxxv. orange and black being the livery of Lord Baltimore, after whom the bird was named. The Baltimore Oriole, or, as it is also called, Firebird, Golden Robin, or Hangnest, winters in Central America, and in the spring reaches the latitude of New York city about May 1. I always look for it when the cherry trees burst into blossom, and at no other time does its beauti- ful plumage appear to better advantage than when seen against a background of white flowers. To the charm of beauty it adds the attraction of song, a rich, ringing whistle, which can be more or less successfully imitated, when the bird immediately responds, challenging the supposed trespasser on his domain. The Baltimore's nest is a bag about five inches deep and three inches in diameter, woven of plant-fibers, thread, etc., and suspended from the terminal portion of a limb, generally of an elm tree. The four to six eggs are white, singularly scrawled with fine black lines, and with a few spots or blotches. The Orchard Oriole is neither so common nor BO gayly dressed as his brilliantly colored relative, and, being fonder of orchards than lawns and elm-shaded highways, 132 ORCHARD ORIOLE. is not BO well known. The female is especially easy to overlook, her suit of plain olive-green closely harmoniz- Orohard Oriole, tlie leaves in color ' icterus spurius. males at first exactly resemble her, but Plate xxxvi. ^he following spring return, wearing their father's black cravat. In this plumage they might readily be taken for another species, so little do they re- semble their parents in appearance. The adult chestnut and black plumage is not fully acquired until the sec- ond, or perhaps even the third spring. The Orchard Oriole winters in Central America, and in the summer is found throughout the eastern United States from the Gulf of Mexico to Massachusetts. It arrives from the South about May 1, and is one of the first birds to leave in the fall, rarely being seen after September 1. Nesting is begun late in May. The nest is pensile, but not so deep as that of the Baltimore Oriole, having more the proportions of a Yireo's nest. It is composed entirely of freshly dried greenish grasses, and is suspended from near the extremity of a branch at a height of fifteen to twenty feet. The three to five eggs are bluish white, spotted, blotched, and scrawled with black. The song of the Orchard Oriole resembles that of his orange-and-black cousin, but is far richer in tone and more finished in character. The male Redwing, with his black uniform and scar- let epaulets, is a familiar inhabitant of our marshes, but many who know him are not acquainted th K* very differently attired mate. She wears a costume which above is black streaked with buff and rust-color, and below is striped dingy black and white, and is much more retiring than her conspicuous husband. Her place is low in the bushes or among the reeds near the nest with its pale PLATE XLIX. PAGE 146. THEE SPABBOW. Length, 6*35 inches. Grown bright chestnut; back black, reddish brown, and bulfy; under parts grayish; sides washed with brownish; a blackish spot in the center of the breast. PTJKPLE GRACKLE. 133 blue eggs, so singularly scrawled with black. He perches on the topmost branch of a neighboring tree, and doubt- less supposes he is guarding his home below, when in truth he is advertising his treasure to every passer-by. The Redwing's liquid Tcong-quer-ree is pleasantly suggestive of marshy places, but it is his early spring music for which we should chiefly value him. The first Robins or Bluebirds are somewhat unreliable signs of spring. They are such hardy birds that it requires very little encouragement from a February sun to send a few skirmishers northward. We can not be sure whether they represent the advance guard or are individuals who have had the courage to winter with us. But when early in March the Redwings come, then we know that the tide of the year has turned. With perennial faith in the sea- son they come in flocks of hundreds, singing their spring- time chorus with a spirit that March winds can not sub- due. About the time the Redwings come, late in February or early in March, we may expect the Purple Grackles Purple Grackle, or Crow Blackbirds. They migrate in yuiscaius quiscuia. large flocks, and their chorus singing Plate XXXVIT. j g q u ite as inspiring as the springtime concerts of the Redwing. There are two kinds of Crow Blackbirds, known as the Purple Grackle and the Bronzed Grackle. The former has iridescent bars on the back and in the Northern States is found only east of the Alleghanies and south of Massachusetts; the latter has the back shining, brassy, bronze, without iridescence, and in the nesting season inhabits the country west of the Alleghanies and north of Connecticut. The females of both species are smaller and duller than the males. Grackles are among the few of our land birds who live in flocks all the year. They pass the winter and mi- grate in larger companies, but when nesting are in smaller 134 BOBOLINK. bands or colonies. They generally select a pine grove, often choosing one in a cemetery, park, or other locality where they will not be disturbed. This may result in a scarcity of food when the young are born, but, rather than abandon a locality which experience has proved to be sa^a 'hey make long journeys in search of food for their nestlings. By watching the old birds one may then easily learn where they live. Their flight is direct and somewhat labored, and when going only a short distance they "keel" their tail-feathers, folding them upward from the middle, an action which renders Grackles con- spicuous and easily identifiable when on the wing. On the ground they strut about with a peculiar walk, which, in connection with their yellowish white eye, adds to the singularity of their appearance. The Grackle's nest is a bulky, compact structure of mud and grasses. It is usually placed in trees, twenty to thirty feet from the ground, but the bird may sometimes nest in bushes or even in a Woodpecker's deserted hole. The three to six eggs are generally pale bluish green, strikingly spotted, blotched, or scrawled with brown and black. But one brood is raised, and when the young leave the nest they roam about the country in small bands, which later join together, forming the enormous flocks of these birds we see in the fall. The Bobolink's extended journeys and quite differ- ent costumes have given him many aliases. Throughout his breeding range, from New Jersey to Nova Scotia, and westward to Utah, he is known Dottchonyx while nesting as the Bobolink. In oryzivorus. July and August he loses his black, Plate XXXVIII. ^ and white wedding dreg8) and gains a new suit of feathers resembling in color those worn by his mate, though somewhat yellower. This is the Keedbird dress, and in it he journeys nearly four REDPOLL. PAOIB 146 ' U7 ' Length, 5-30 inches. Adult male, crown bright red; back brownish black and grayish; throat black ; under parts white, streaked with black; breast pink. Adult female and young, similar, but no pink on breast. SNOWFLAKE. Length, 6-90 inches. Upper paits brown and black; wings and tail black and white ; under parts white ; breast and sides brownish. BOBOLINK. 135 thousand miles to his winter quarters south of the Ama- zon. The start is made in July, when he joins flocks of his kind in the northern wild-rice (Zizania aquatica) marshes. Late in August he visits the cultivated rice fields of South Carolina and Georgia, and it is at this sea- son we so often hear the metallic link of passing migrants. The rice is now in the milk, and the Ricebirds, or Orto- lans, as they are called in the South, are so destructive to the crop that it is estimated they directly or indirectly cause an annual loss of $3,000,000. Some birds linger as far north as New Yoik until October 1, but by this time the leaders of the south-bound host have reached Cuba, where they are called Chambergo. From Cuba they pass to the coast of Yucatan, and thence southward through Central America or to the island of Jamaica, where, because of their extreme fatness, they are known as Butterbirds. From Jamaica they go to the mainland, either of Central America, or by one continuous flight of four hundred miles to northern South America, thence traveling southward to their winter home. The northward journey is begun in March or April, and about the 25th of the latter month the vanguard reaches Florida. It is composed only of males, now called Maybirds, all in full song. Let any one who knows the Bobolink's song imagine, if he can, the effect produced by three hundred birds singing together ! About May 1 Bobolinks reach the vicinity of New York city. The females soon follow the males, and early in June the birds are nesting. This is the glad season of the Bobolink's year. For ten months he has been an exile, but at last he is at home again, and he gives voice to his joy in the jolliest tinkling, rippling, rollicking song that ever issued from bird's throat. In the fields made merry by the music of Bobolinks one 136 MEADOWLARE:. is almost sure to find Meadowlarks. They are strong, legged walkers, and spend all their time while feeding Meadowlark, on tne ground. Like all terrestrial, Stumeiia magna. protectively colored birds, they often try to escape observation by hiding in the grasses rather than by flying. When perched in a tree or other exposed position, they are among the shyest of our smaller birds, rarely permitting a near approach ; but when they fancy themselves concealed on the ground they sometimes "lie as close" as Bob-whites. When flushed they fly rapidly, alternately flapping and sailing, showing as they fly the white feathers on either side of their tail. These feathers are the Meadowlark's best field character. They are very conspicuous when he is on the wing, and, when perching, if he is alarmed or excited, he exposes them by nervously flitting or twitching his tail. This movement is generally accompanied by a single nasal call-note, which changes to a rolling twitter as the bird takes wing. Neither of these notes give any indi- cation of the sweetness of the bird's song, a high musical whistle, clear as the note of a fife, sweet as the tone of a flute. It is subject to much variation both individual and local, but the song I oftenest hear in northern New Jersey may be written : When singing, the birds usually perch in an exposed po- sition, generally choosing the topmost branches of a tree or a dead limb. The Meadowlark's nest is placed upon the ground, as a rule, in a tuft of grasses which is arranged to form a dome over it. The eggs, four to six in number, are laid about May 15, and in color are white, spotted or speckled with cinnamon or reddish brown. PLATE LI. AMERICAN CBOSSBILL. PAGES 147, 148. Length, 6-20 inches. Adult male, dull ced ; back brownish ; wings and tail blackish. Adult female and young, greenish ; back more or less mottled with brownish ; the under parts grayish. PINE GROSBEAK. Length, 9-10 inches. Adult male, rose-pink ; back brownish ; lower belly gray ; wings and tail brownish black. Adult female and young-, gray ; crown, upper tail-coverts, and breast washed with deep yellow. COWBIRD. 137 Occasionally Cowbirds are seen during the winter near New York city ; but, as a rule, they retire farther Cowbird south at this season, and are first ob- served there in the spring about March Plate XL. but singly or in small bands. The male may now be seen perched in an exposed position on a treetop, calling his long-drawn-out, glassy Tduck, tse-e-e. Later, when wooing the female, he utters a curious, gurgling note, resembling the sound made by pouring water rapidly from a bottle, and accompanying it by motions which suggest extreme nausea. We often see these birds feed- ing near cattle in the pastures, always in small flocks, for they do not pair nor even construct a nest, the female lay- ing her egg in the nest of another and generally smaller species. Few birds seem aware of the imposture, and not only do they incubate the egg but they may attend to the demands of the young Cowbird at the expense of their own offspring, who sometimes die of starvation. Even after leaving the nest the young parasite continues its call for food, and when seeing a Maryland Yellow- throat, or some other small bird feeding a clumsy fledg- ling twice its size, one wonders it does not detect the de- ception. The better we know birds the more strongly are we impressed with their individuality. To one who has no friends in feathers it seems pure fancy to endow some insignificant " Chippy " with human attributes ; but in reality there are as clearly defined characters among birds as among men. To be convinced of the truth of this statement we have only to compare the Cowbird, a thoroughly contemptible creature, lacking in every moral and maternal instinct, with the bird who constructs a well- made nest, faithfully broods her eggs, and cares for her young with a devotion of which mother love alone is capable, 138 SONG SPARROW. SPARROWS, FINCHES, ETC. (FAMILY This, the largest family of birds, contains between five hundred and fifty and six hundred species, and is repre- sented in all parts of the world except the Australian re- gion. Sparrows are the evergreens among birds. When the leaves have fallen from the chestnut, oak, and maple, the hemlock, pine, and cedar are doubly dear. So, when the Flycatchers, Warblers, and Thrushes have left us, the hardy Sparrows are more than usually welcome. Feed- ing largely on seeds, which their strong, stout bills are especially fitted to crush, they are not affected by the changes in temperature which govern the movements of strictly insectivorous birds. Some species are with us throughout the year, some come from the South in early spring and remain until snow falls, others come from the far North to pass the winter ; so that at no season of the year are we without numbers of these cheery birds. Fortunately, some of our best songsters are members of this family. Their music is less emotional than that of the Thrushes, but it has a happier ring the music for every day. It is the Song Sparrow who in February opens the Bong Sparrow, season of song, and it is the Song Meiospizafastiata. Sparrow who in November sings its Plate XLI. closing notes ; nor, except during a part of August, has his voice once been missing from the choir. His modest chant always suggests good cheer and contentment, but heard in silent February it seems the divinest bird lay to which mortal ever listened. The magic of his voice bridges the cold months of early spring ; as we listen to him the brown fields seem green, flowers bloom, and the bare branches become clad with softly rustling leaves. PLATE LII. PAGE 148. AMEBICAN GOLDFINCH. Length, 5*10 inches. Adult male in summer, crown black ; rest of body yellow ; wings and tail black and white. Adult female and males in winter, upper parts grayish brown; crown yellowish; under parts soiled whitish ; throat yeUow. SWAMP SPARROW. 139 You can not go far afield without meeting this singer. He is not only our commonest Sparrow, but one of our commonest birds. Generally you will find him on or near the ground at the border of some undergrowth, and if there be water near by, preferably a meadow brook, his presence is assured. When flushed he will doubtless make for the nearest thicket, " pumping " his tail, as Thompson expressively says, in describing hk somewhat jerky flight. Now he questions you with a mildly impatient chimp or twink, a call-note not to be mistaken for that of any other species, when once you have learned it. Equally diagnostic is the bird's spotted breast with one larger spot in its center. The Song Sparrow's nest is usually placed on the ground, but sometimes a bush may be chosen for a nest- ing site. The eggs, four or five in number, are bluish white, thickly marked with reddish brown. The Song Sparrow rears three broods each year, the nesting season lasting from May to August. The Swamp Sparrow, a well-named cousin of the Song Sparrow, resembles his relative in his fondness for Swamp Sparrow, the vicinity of water and habit of tak- Meiospiza georgiana. ing ref uge in low cover. He is a true Plate XLIT. marsh or swamp bird, and is particu- larly abundant in large marshes. - His call is an insig- nificant cheep , while his song is a simple, sweet, but rather monotonous tweet-tweet-tweet, repeated many times and occasionally running into a trill. The Swamp Sparrow nests from northern Illinois and Pennsylvania northward to Labrador. Its nest and eggs resemble those of the Song Sparrow. It is migra- tory in the northern part of the range, and is rare in win- ter north of southern New Jersey. Both the Song and Swamp Sparrow are, as we have seen, birds of the lowlands, though the latter also inhab- 140 FIELD SPARROW. its higher ground, but the two Sparrows now to be men- tioned are birds of the uplands, rarely if ever living in low, wet places. An old hillside pasture, dotted with young cedars or clumps of bushes, in which he may place his nest, is the Field Sparrow, favorite home of the Field Sparrow. Spizeiia pmiila. Here you may look for him early in Plate XLIII. He ig will fly some distance when alarmed, and then alight on a bare twig near or at the top of some bush or sapling. Yery different this from the Song Sparrow's way of div- ing into a bush. From his exposed position he watches you and gives you an equally good chance to watch him. Note the whitish, unstreaked breast, the reddish brown or sorrel crown, the gray face and whitish ring about the eye, and especially the pale brownish or flesh-colored bill. These are all good marks, and if now you can hear him sing his identity will be settled without question. His song is one of the most pleasing I know. It is very simple but very expressive, a sweet, plaintive cher-wee, cher-wee, cher-wee, cheeo dee-e-e-e-e, which goes straight to one's heart. It is sung most freely after sunset, and is in keeping with the peacefulness of the evening hour. At this time, too, the bird seems inspired to more than usual effort, and its or- dinary song is often so elaborated and prolonged as to be scarcely recognizable. The song season ends in the latter part of August, and, although the birds are with us until November, I have rarely heard them sing in the fall. The Yesper Sparrow, Grass Finch, or Bay-winged Bunting for he bears all three names prefers more open grounds than the Field Sparrow selects. There is something free and spirited about this bird and its song which demands space for its proper development. No PLATE LHI. PAGE 149. PURPLE FINCH. Length, 6-20 inches. Adult male, rose-pink; back brownish ; lower belly white; no white in wings. Adult female and young \ upper parts streaked brownish and grayish ; under parts white, streaked with brownish; bill rounded on top; a tuft of bristly feathers over the nostrils. VESPER SPARROW. swamp or thicket will do for him, but in great broad fields he is at home. If a roadway leads through his haunts, Vesper Sparrow, J ou mav often see ^ im on tne ground Poocates gramineus. ahead of you, and when he flies the Plate XLIV. white feathers shown on either side of his tail will give you an excellent clew to his identity. Probably he will fly on ahead a little way and alight again in the road, or a longer flight may lead him to a neighboring fence or the upper branches of a more dis- tant tree. It is from positions of this kind that he most often sings. With him song is evidently a matter of im- portance. He can not, like many birds, sing between the mouthfuls of a meal, but ascending to his perch he gives perhaps half an hour entirely to music, resting motionless between the intervals of each song. It is impossible to satisfactorily describe this song. It resembles that of the Song Sparrow, but is finer and wilder. It opens with one low note, followed by two higher ones, while the Song Sparrow begins with three notes, all of the same kind. The Yesper Sparrow is migratory, coming to us with the Field Sparrow early in April and remaining until November. Its nest is placed on the ground, and the bluish or pinkish white speckled eggs are laid early in May. It is strange, is it not, that the only bird we all detest should also be the only one who insists on sharing our homes with us. The House or English Sparrow, is a product of the times ; a remarkably keen-witted bird, who, like a noxious weed, thrives and increases where a less hardy species could not exist. This harsh-voiced little gamin soon detects and avoids anything like a systematic attempt to entrap him, and, being productive past all belief, seems likely to completely 142 CHIPPING SPARROW. overrun the land. He was introduced into this country in 1851, and in 1870 was found only in the cities of the Atlantic States. Now he has spread over the greater part of the United States and Canada. If he were restricted to the cities we should have only his never-ceasing, maddening chatter and our soiled walls to complain of ; but he has invaded not only the towns and villages and the neighboring houses, but visits also our grain fields and fruit orchards, our woods and marshes. No effective method for his extermination has been de- vised, and I fear we must accept the Sparrow as a penalty for the shortsightedness and ignorance which permitted us to meddle with the laws of Nature. If we except this ever-present nuisance the Chippy is the most domestic of our Sparrows. He seems thor- CMpping Sparrow, ou g% at nome about our doorsteps ; a Spizeiia sociaiis. contented, modest little bird who ap- PiateXLV. parently tries hard to believe in the goodness of human nature, even though he meets with but little encouragement. One wonders why he has not long ago given up the attempt to make friends with us, so rarely do we show any appreciation of his advances. The house cat is Chippy's chief enemy. Crouching and crawling, waiting and watching, she misses no opportunity to pounce on an unsuspecting bird. It is surprising that any escape. But each spring, about April 10, the Chippy comes back to us after a winter in the cotton, corn, and broom-sedge fields of the South, and soon we hear his unpretentious, monotonous chippy -chippy -chippy, many times repeated, and occasionally running into a grasshop- perlike trill. About a month later we may find further evidence of his too often misplaced trust in a neat, hair-lined nest built in the vines on the veranda or a neighboring tree. The eggs are unexpectedly pretty, a bright blue or bluish PLATE LIV. PAGE 150. BOSE-BEEASTED GBOSBEAK. Length, 8-10 inches. Adult male, crown and back black; rump white; throat black; breast rose-red ; belly white. Adult female, upper parts dark brown and buff ; a white line over eye ; under parts buffy, streaked with brownish ; under wing-coverts orange. WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. 143 green, spotted, chiefly at the larger end, with cinnamon- brown or blackish markings. Up to this time the Chippy has given us a good oppor- tunity to see his chestnut cap and black forehead, but when the nesting season is over he will change these for a cap to match his coat, and with others of his kind gather in old, weedy fields, remaining there until cold weather drives him southward. About the time of the first frost a new Sparrow will appear in the hedgerows and thickets and the under. growth of the woods. The white patch White-throated .,.,.., Sparrow, on nis throat may aid in his identinca- ZonotricJiia aiUcottis. tion as the White-throated Sparrow, a Plate XLVL Northern bird who in the summer nests from northern New England northward, and in winter is found from southern New England to the Gulf of Mexico. He is disposed to be rather quiet for several days after his arrival, and, beyond a few low notes addressed to his companions, has little to say ; but if you whistle to him even a poor imitation of his song, nearly every bird in the company will hop up from the tangle of branches and, perching on the outer twigs, look for the friends who called. Perhaps some may essay a tremulous response, but for a week or more they will make few at- tempts to sing. Later, you will hear the sweet, plaintive notes that give to this bird the name Peabody-bird. The White-throat's call-notes are a low tseep and a very characteristic sharp chink, which has been well likened by Mr. Bicknell to the sound of a marble cut- ter's chisel. At this season the White-throats roost to- gether in flocks of varying size, and if you chance to be near their home at bedtime you will hear this chink note given as a "quarriers' chorus." Finally, as the gloom deepens, it will cease, and from the dark depths of the 144 FOX SPARROW. thicket will come only the cozy, contented twitterings of the birds wishing one another good night. The interest with which one examines a flock of White- throated Sparrows is intensified by the probability of White-crowned finding their distinguished relative the Sparrow, White-crown. In the Mississippi Val- Zonotrichia ley he is often common, but in the leucophrys. Atlantic g tates ^ G ig sumc i en tly rare to be a character of importance. The White-crown differs from the White-throat in having no white on the throat, which, like the breast, is gray, and in having the space before the eye black in- stead of yellow or white. In the fall his crown is brown, with a paler line through its center. Near New York city I look for the White-crown in September and October, and again about May 15. Thompson describes its song as " like the latter half of the White-throat's familiar refrain, repeated a number of times with a peculiar sad cadence and in a clear, soft whistle." Some fine day about the middle of March you may hear a song so unlike any you have ever heard, that be- Fox Sparrow ^ ore * ne 8 i n g er ceases you will know Passereiia iliaca. you are on the verge of a discovery. Plate XLVIL rpj^ son g j s ] O ud, exceedingly sweet, and varied. Its richness of tone seems to accentuate the bleakness of the bird's surroundings. It is a song for summer, not for leafless spring ; but heard at this sea- son it seems all the more attractive, and with pleasurable excitement you hasten toward the second growth, near the border of which the bird is perched. His large size and bright reddish brown upper parts readily distinguish him from other Sparrows, and, in connection with his spotted breast, give him a general resemblance to a Hermit Thrush, for which bird he is sometimes mistaken ; but a PliATE LV. TOWHEE. PAGE 151. Length, 8-35 inches. Adult male, upper parts, throat, and breast black ; belly white ; sides reddish brown. Adult female, similar, but black replaced by brownish. JUNCO. 145 glance at Ms short, stout bill at once shows his family rela- tionships, and you should have no difficulty in identifying him as the Fox Sparrow. A month later he will leave us for his summer home in the far North, but in October and November his ringing notes may again be heard as he pauses a day or two on his journey southward. After the Fox Sparrows go, our bird-life is reduced to its winter elements that is, permanent residents and win- Junco * er visitants. Of the latter the Junco Junco hyemaiis. or Slate-colored Snowbird is the com- Piate XL viii. monest and most generally distributed. Although we call this bird a winter visitant, he is with us nearly eight months in the year, arriving late in Sep- tember and remaining until early May. The Junco is one of the birds whose acquaintance can be easily made. His suit of slaty gray, with its low-cut vest of white, is not worn by any other of our birds ; and while some species show white outer tail-feathers in flight, the Junco's seem to be more than usually conspicuous. Except when nesting, Juncos associate in loose flocks of from ten to fifty. Generally you will find them feed- ing on the ground near evergreens, into which, when dis- turbed, they will fly with a twittering note. If they are excited by your appearance you will hear a sharp, kissing call ; but if unalarmed they will utter a rapidly repeated chew-chew-chew, expressive of the utmost contentment. In March and April, before leaving for their summer home in northern New England or the crests of the Alleghanies and Catskills, the Juncos sing a simple trill or low, twittering warble. Modest in manner and attire, there is nothing of especial interest in the Junco's habits, and only bird-lovers can understand what a difference his presence makes in a winter landscape. It brings a sense of companionship ; it is a link between us and Nature. 146 TREE SPARROW AND REDPOLL. The bird's cheery twitter is as welcome as a ray of sun- light on a cloudy day. With the Juncos we may often find a company of Tree Sparrows or Winter Chippies. They resemble our Tree Sparrow familiar Chipping Sparrow, but the Spizeiia monticoia. blackish dot in the center of their breasts is a good distinguishing mark. Then, too, the true Chippies all leave for the South in November, while the Winter Chippies come in October and remain until April. Tree Sparrows are sociable birds, with apparently the best of dispositions. They are usually found in small companies, each member of which seems to have some- thing to say. Watch them feeding on an old weed stalk left uncovered by the snow. It bends beneath the weight of half a dozen birds, but, far from attempting to rob one another, they keep up a conversational chatter bespeaking the utmost good fellowship. Too-la-it, too-ld-it, each one calls, and I have only to remember this note to bring clearly to mind a bright winter morning with the fresh snow crystals sparkling in the sunshine, and in the dis- tance a tinkling chorus of Tree Sparrows at breakfast. Another winter associate of the Junco's, and an inti- mate friend of the Tree Sparrow's, is the Redpoll, Red- Redpoii PH Linnet, or, as he is sometimes AcantUs Unaria. called, Red-capped Chippy. The Red- Plate L. p u nestg in tlie f ar ]sr or th, and the extent of his southern journeys depends very much upon the supply of food he finds in his winter wanderings. When there are seeds in abundance north of the United States, we do not see many of these birds, but if the larder fails they may come into New England in great numbers, and a few may venture as far south as Yirginia. One can not tell, therefore, when to expect them, but it is well to be on the lookout from November to March. PLATE LVI. PAGE 155. DICKCISSEL. Length, 6-00 inches. Adult male, back black, chestnut, and grayish ; lesser wing-coverts bright chestnut ; chin white ; throat black ; breast yellow ; belly white. Adult female, upper parts streaked black and grayish ; throat white ; breast yellowish, with black streaks ; belly white. SKOWFLAKE AND CROSSBILL. With the Tree Sparrows and Juncos, Kedpolls feed on the seeds of plants left uncovered by the snow, and they also include birch buds in their fare. None of our winter birds better illustrate the flock- ing habit than the Snowflakes, Snow Buntings, or, as they Snowflake, are a ^ so ca ^ e White Snowbirds. With Piectrophenax nivalis. a uniformity of movement which would Plate L. p ut to gha^e the evolutions of the best- drilled troops, they whirl over the snow-clad fields, wheel- ing to right or left, as though governed by a single impulse. Suddenly they swing downward into a weedy field, alighting on the snow or ground, where they run not hop about like little beach birds. Sometimes, it is said, they sing on the wing while with us, but their usual note is a low chirp. They are terrestrial birds, and, al- though they may often perch on fences or buildings, are rarely seen in trees. Snowflakes nest within the Arctic Circle, and, like other of our winter birds that come from the far North, are irregular in their movements. As a rule they do not wander much south of Long Island and northern Illinois, but occasionally they go as far as Virginia and Kansas, and are thus among the possibilities which add so much to the pleasure of winter days in the field. The Crossbill is a possibility at any season. None of our birds is more erratic in its migrations. As a rule, it American Crowbill, ls f Onnd in the mdle Stat6S ^ be - Loxia curvirostra tween November and March, but I minor, have seen it in Central Park, New York city, as late as May. In the higher parts of the Alleghanies and in northern New England it is resident throughout the year. Crossbills usually wander as far south each winter as Connecticut, but beyond this are of irregular occurrence. They feed almost entirely upon the seeds of pines, and 11 14:8 PINE GROSBEAK. are not often seen far from coniferous trees. Their sin- gular bill might, at first glance, be considered misshapen, but if you will watch a Crossbill push his crossed mandi- bles beneath the scale of a pine cone, and with a quick twist force it off and secure the seed at its base, you will readily admit that for the bird's purposes his bill could not be easily improved. In hunting for Crossbills it is a good plan to look through the woods for falling scales of pine cones, and when you see a shower of them whirling softly down- ward it behooves you to learn the cause of their descent. The birds often follow them to the ground, to secure the seeds which have dropped there. Crossbills fly in compact flocks, and often utter a sharp, clicking note while on the wing. Their song is sweet and varied but not loud. Pine Grosbeaks are among our rarer winter visit- ants. They come as far south as Massachusetts in vary- Pine Grosbeak, m g numbers, and occasionally reach Pinicoia enudeator. Connecticut, but south of this point are of very infrequent occurrence. At irregular intervals Pine Grosbeaks become abundant dur- ing the winter in New England, when, because of their size, they attract general attention. They usually resort to coniferous trees, upon the seeds of which they feed, but they also eat berries and buds, and are said to be espe- cially fond of the fruit of the staghorn sumach. No one seeing the Goldfinch or Yellowbird in his summer costume of gold and black would imagine that so Goldfinch, dainty a creature could brave the storms Spinus tristis. of winter ; but late in the season, when his home life is ended, he changes the gay wedding dress for a plainer suit, and joins the ranks of winter birds. I wish that every one knew the Goldfinch. His gen- GOLDFINCH. 149 tie ways and sweet disposition are never-failing antidotes for discontent. One can not be long near a flock of these birds without being impressed bj the refinement which seems to mark their every note and action. They show, too, a spirit of contentment from which we may draw more than a passing lesson. Hear me, Jiear me, dearie, they call as they feed among the weeds or on the birch buds, and, no matter how poor the fare, they seem thankful for it. The seeds of the dandelion, thistle, and sunflower are among their favorites ; and if you would attract Goldfinches as well as some other birds, devote a corner of your garden to sunflowers. The meal finished, the birds launch into the air, and to the tune of a cheery per-chw-o-ree, per-chw-o-ree, go swinging through space in long, bounding undulations. In April the males regain their bright colors, but they are evidently believers in prolonged courtship, and, al- though the nuptial dress is acquired so early, housekeep- ing is apparently not thought of until June. Then a neat home of bark and fine grasses, thickly lined with plant down, is placed in a bush or tree, five to thirty feet from the ground, and in it are laid three to six pale, bluish- white eggs. Now the song season has reached its height. Chorus singing has been abandoned. Each bird has become an inspired soloist, who, perched near his home or flying in broad circles about it, pours forth a flood of melody. It is an exceedingly attractive song, sweet and varied and suggesting a Canary's, but still is no more like it than a hothouse is like a tropical forest. Creak, creak, the notes are clear but faint, and may Purple Finch, come from any place beyond arm's reach. Carpodacuspurpureus. They are the Purple Finch's flight- Plate LIII. ca ]] g . one might think his wing-joints needed oiling. Alighting on the topmost twig of a 150 PURPLE FINCH. forest tree, lie utters a low, wild, questioning whistle. With crown-feathers slightly erect he seems alert and restless, and before we can fairly see him is off again to parts unknown. Purple Finches, in small companies, may often be seen feeding near the ground with Goldfinches, but if alarmed they soon return to the tree tops. The old males may be known by their pinkish red color, which is bright- est on the head and breast, and fades to brownish on the lower back and tail and white on the belly. The young males and females are Sparrowlike in appearance, the upper parts being dark grayish brown, the under parts white, streaked with dusky. A whitish line passing over the eye is a characteristic mark. During the winter Purple Finches are irregularly dis- tributed throughout most of the Eastern States, but in summer they are not found south of northern New Jer- sey. They now become more social and may nest in our gardens. Generally a coniferous tree is selected, and the nest of twigs, grasses, and rootlets is placed at a height of about twenty feet. The eggs, four to six in number, are blue, spotted with dusky about the larger end. Count yourself fortunate if a Purple Finch makes his home near yours. He may appropriate a few buds and blossoms, but he will repay you with music and leave you his debtor. His song is a sweet, flowing warble ; music as natural as the rippling of a mountain brook. Some morning early in May you may meet the Rose- breasted Grosbeak, just returned from a winter's sojourn in South America. Perhaps his fame Bose-breasted .,, , , , , . , . n Grosbeak, W1 ^ have P recec ^d him, when you Will Zameiodia in a measure be prepared for his charms ludovitiana. o f 6On g an( } plumage, and so miss the keener pleasure of surprise ; but to me he appeared as a revelation, and after fifteen years I still PLATE LVII. PAGE 161. CEDAB WAXWING. Length, 7-20 inches. Grayish brown; upper tail-coverts gray; lower belly yellowish; end of tail yellow; secondaries sometimes with red, sealing-wax-like tips ; stripe through face black. PLATE LVIII. PAGE 162. NORTHERN SHRIKE. Length, 10-30 inches. Adult, upper parts gray; tail black and white ; under parts white, with blackish bars; lores grayish; ear-coverts black. Young, similar, but plumage washed with brownish. TOWHEE. find it difficult to believe that, unknown to me, this beau- tiful creature could long have been an inhabitant of my woods. The Grosbeak prefers young second growths, with a liberal proportion of oaks. In one of these trees he will doubtless build his nest, a structure so lightly made that one can almost see the blue, spotted eggs from below. The male is not only an ardent lover but an admirable husband, and, unlike most brightly attired birds, shares with his mate the task of incubation, and, it is said, sings while on the nest. His mate is so unlike him in color that few would suspect their relationship. She suggests an overgrown female Purple Finch, with the eye-stripe especially prominent ; but if you should chance to see the under surface of her wings, you would find that they were lined with gold. However, the call-notes of both sexes are alike a sharp, characteristic peek, which you will have no difficulty in recognizing after you have learned it. The Grosbeak's song will remind you of a Robin's, but it is in truth a much higher type of bird music. It is a joyous carol, expressive of a happy disposition and a clear conscience. The Towhee, or Chewink, is an important member of any bird community. He comes early April 20 may Towhee, US an( * ^ sometimes remaining until November 1. ythropUhalmm. During this period there is not an hour Plate LV. ,, & , , of the day when you can not find a Chewink if you know how to look for him. At midday you will perhaps have to summon him by a whistled to- whee from the depths of his bushy home on the border of a wood or thicket ; but he will soon respond, and with a fluff-fluff f hi g short, rounded wings, fly jerkily up to inquire what's wanted. 152 INDIGO BUNTING. Some birds, such as the Red-eyed Vireo, can sing just as well while hunting food as at any other time ; in fact, I do not remember ever seeing a Red-eye pause long in its search for insects song and search go on together. But with the Chewink singing is a serious matter, not to be associated with the material question of food ; so, when singing, he abandons the dead leaves he has been tossing about so vigorously, and, mounting a perch, becomes an inspired if not gifted musician. Sweet bird, sing, a friend writes it, the " sing " being higher, sustained, and vibrant. To this there is often a refrain which suggests an an- swering, tremulous Pll try. Matins or vespers over, the Chewink returns to the ground and resumes his occupation of scratching among the leaves for breakfast or supper, as the case may be. The Chewink' s nest is placed on the ground, often in dried grass, beneath a tangle of running wild blackberry. The eggs, four or five in number, are white, finely and evenly speckled with reddish brown. There are three birds who sing not only through the heat of midsummer but are undaunted by the warmth of a midday sun. They are the Wood Pe e > &* Ked-eyed ^reo, and the In- digo-bird or Bunting. The Pewee and Vireo, singing dreamily from the shady depths of a tree, carry the air to the hummed accompaniment of insects ; but the Bunting, mounting to an upper branch, gives voice to a tinkling warble, more in keeping with the freshness of early morning than the languor of noon. July, July, summer-summer's here / morning, noontide, evening, list to me, he sings so rapidly that human tongue can scarce enumerate the words fast enough to keep pace with him. The Indigo-bird is in song when he comes to Us from the South early in May, but it is not until other PLATE LIX. BED-EYED VIBEO. PAGES 164, 165. Length, 6-25 inches. Crown gray, bordered by black and white ; back, wings, and tail olive-green ; under parts white. YELLOW-THBOATED VIBEO. Length, 5.95 inches. Grown and back greenish yellow ; rump gray ; breast bright yellow ; belly white ; wing-bars white. CARDINAL. 153 singers have dropped from the chorus that his voice be- comes conspicuous. Not far away his mate is doubtless sitting on her blu- ish white eggs in a nest low down in the crotch of a bush. He in his deep indigo costume may be easily identified, but she is a dull brownish bird, about the size of a Ca- nary, sparrowlike in appearance, though with unstreaked plumage, and a difficult bird to name, even when you have a specimen in your hand, while in the bush, if silent, she is a puzzle. But she is far too good a mother not to protest if you venture too near her home, and her sharp pit Qrpeet usually calls her mate, whom you will recog- nize at once. The Cardinal is about the size of a Towhee, with plumage which, except for a black throat, is almost wholly rosy red. Seeing a mounted Cardinal, one might imagine that he was a conspicuous bird in life and easy to observe ; but the truth is that, in spite of his bright colors, the Cardinal is a surprisingly difficult bird to see. You may often hear his sharp, insignificant tsip without catching a glimpse of the caller, so well can he conceal himself. His olive-brown mate is, of course, even more difficult to find, and when you do see her you would hardly suspect the relationship were it not for her actions and the striking crest worn by both sexes. The Cardinal's song is a rich, sympathetic whistle. His mate also sings at times, and I carry in my memory a musical courting I once observed, in which a pair of these beautiful birds were the actors. The song begins with whee-you, whee-you, long-drawn notes, which are followed by a more rapid hurry, hurry, hurry / quick, quick, quick, and other notes difficult of description. The Cardinal is a bird of the Southern rather than of the Northern States, and is rarely seen north of 154 LARK FINCH. York city. It is, however, a permanent resident through- out its range, and to one who associates it with magnolias and yellow jessamine it seems strangely out of place amid snowy surroundings. The Cardinal builds its nest about four feet from the ground in thickets, laying three or four eggs, which are white or bluish white, speckled and spotted with grayish or reddish brown. In the Mississippi Yalley and westward there are sev- eral members of this family who are rarely found east Lark Finch, f *he Alleghanies. Prominent among Chondestes them is the Lark Finch, a handsome grammacus. j^ about gix and ft quarter mc hes long, with ear-coverts and sides of the crown chestnut, the back grayish brown streaked with black, the outer tail-feathers tipped with white, and the under parts white, with a single black spot in the center of the breast. This is a migratory bird, arriving in southern Illinois about the middle of April and remaining until September or October. Mr. Ridgway, in his Birds of Illinois, says that its favorite resorts are " fertile prairies and meadows adjoining strips or groves of timber. In Illinois it evinces a special fondness for cornfields, in which it builds its nest at the foot of the stalks, while the male sings from the fence or the top of a small tree by the roadside." Its song, the same writer continues, is " composed of a series of chants, each syllable rich, loud, and clear, in- terspersed with emotional trills. At the beginning the song reminds one somewhat of that of the Indigo-bird (Passerina cyanea), but the notes are louder and more metallic, and their delivery more vigorous. Though seemingly hurried, it is one continuous gush of sprightly music ; now gay, now melodious, and then tender beyond description the very expression of emotion." PLATE LX. PAGE 167. BLACK AND WHITE WABBLEB. Length, 5-25 inches. Adult male, upper parts, breast, and sides black and white ; belly white. Adult female, similar, but with less black on under parts. DICKCISSEL. 155 Some thirty or forty years ago the Dickcissel, OP Black-throated Bunting, was a locally common bird in Dickcissel the Middle Atlantic States. Now it is Spiza americana. rarely found east of the Alleghanies, Plate LVI. anc j even m f^ Mississippi Yalley its range is becoming restricted, and it is of irregular distri- bution. It migrates in large flocks, the males in the spring being several days in advance of the females. About May 1 it reaches the latitude of Chicago, and by the mid- dle of the month is mated. The nest is placed on the ground, or in low trees or bushes ; the eggs, four or five in number, are pale blue. In the work previously quoted from, Mr. Hidgway writes of this species : " "While some other birds are equally numerous, there are few that announce their presence as persistently as this species. All day long, in spring and summer, the males, sometimes to the num- ber of a dozen or more for each meadow of considerable extent, perch upon the summits of tall weed stalks or fence-stakes, at short intervals, crying out : &ee, see Dick, Dick Cissel, Cissel ; therefore ' Dick Cissel ' is well known to every farmer's boy as well as to all who visit the country during the season of clover blossoms and wild roses, when ' Dame Nature ' is in her most joyous mood." TANAGERS. (FAMILY TANAGRIDJE.) The Tanagers, numbering some three hundred and fifty species, are found only in America. Their home is in the tropics, where they are among the most abun- dant of birds. But two species reach the eastern United States, the Summer Redbird of the South and our Scar- let Tanager, both worthy representatives of a group of birds which in brilliancy of color rival even the Hum- 156 SCARLET TANAGER. mingbirds. The male Scarlet Tanager, with fire-red body and jet-black wings and tail, is the most brightly plum- aged of our birds. Seen against a Scarlet Tanager, } ea fy background, light seems to radi- Piranga erytJiromelas. J p. ate from his glowing feathers. But the female, clad in dull olive-green, is so in harmony with the color of her surroundings that she is not easily discovered. The young male at first resembles his mother, but has blackish wings and tail, and does not acquire the full scarlet and black plumage until the following spring. After the nesting season is over the male exchanges the nuptial dress, which has rendered him so conspicuous, for a costume similar to that worn by the young male. The Scarlet Tanager spends the winter in Central and South America with his numerous relatives, and in the spring reaches the latitude of New York city about May 5, remaining until October. It frequents both high and low woods, but prefers rather open growths of white oak. Its nest is usually placed on the horizontal branch of an oak limb. The three or four eggs are pale greenish blue, with numerous reddish brown markings. The Tanager's call-note is a characteristic chip-churr ; his song is not unlike the Robin's, but is not so free and ringing. Mounting to the topmost branch, often of a dead or partially dead tree, he sings, Look-up, way-up, loolc-at-me, tree-fop, and with frequent pauses repeats the invitation. SWALLOWS. (FAMILY Primarily, Swallows are remarkable for their power of flight. Their long, bladelike wings show how well they are fitted for life in the air; their small feet, on the other hand, are of little service except in perching, and give evidence of the effect of disuse (see Fig. 6). Pt ATE LXL PAOB 168. MYRTLE WARBLER. Length, 5*65 inches. Winter plumage > crown-patch, rump, and sides of breast yellow ; back brown and black ; under parts black and white. Summer plumage, similar, but upper parts gray and black ; more black on under parts. BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. Length, 5-10 inches. Upper parts yellowish green; face brighter; breast black; belly white. SWALLOWS. 157 The aerial ability of Swallows accounts for their wide distribution, the eighty known species being represented in all parts of the world. Only six of them inhabit the northeastern States, but they are so active and so easily observed, that they rank among ourv most abundant and best-known birds. Swallows are eminently insectivorous. The Tree Swal- low is known to feed on bayberries when its usual fare is wanting, but, with this exception, it is doubtful if any but insect food passes a Swallow's bill from one year's end to another. Recalling now the activity of Swallows, which both necessitates a large supply of food and pro- cures it, and we must realize that these birds are incal- culably beneficial. Both the feeding habits and powers of flight of Swal- lows are such as their structure would lead us to expect, but when we examine their nests we are amazed at the architectural skill of builders so poorly provided with tools. The large mud pocket of the Barn Swallow, the clay retort of the Cliff Swallow, and the long burrow which the Bank Swallow excavates, are surely not the kind of homes we should expect these small-billed, weak- footed, dainty creatures to construct. We will note, too, that these feathered architects are quick to perceive and take advantage of the new and favorable conditions for nest-building found about the home of man. The Bank, Rough-winged, and Tree Swallows, and the Purple Martin, lay white eggs : the eggs of the Barn ' v OO 7 OO and Cliff Swallows are speckled with cinnamon, olive, and reddish brown. It is when nesting that Swallows best show one of their strong characteristics their sociability. Many birds live in flocks during part of the year, but separate in pairs when nesting ; but most Swallows live on terms of such intimacy that their nesta seem to be merely apartments in 158 SWALLOWS. one great dwelling. A photograph of part of a colony of Cliff Swallows in Montana shows one hundred and forty nests, nearly all of which adjoin one another. The songs of Swallows are humble efforts, but are so expressive of the happy dispositions of the birds, and so associated with scenes with which they are inseparably connected, that the merry twitterings of these birds are as dear to us as the voices of friends. The sociability of Swallows does not end with the nesting season, as it does with many birds that are then brought into communities by force of circumstances. When the young take wing, Swallows begin to collect in flocks, which gradually unite, and in August and Sep- tember form assemblages containing millions of individ- uals. They generally make their headquarters in some large marsh, where they roost in the reeds and grasses, but they also resort to trees. Early in the morning they scatter over the country in small bands, flying at a con- siderable height, and during the day we may often see them feeding over fields and ponds or resting on wayside telegraph wires. Late in the afternoon they begin to re- turn to their roosts. At first they fly slowly and circle about to feed, but as the light fails they fly with increas- ing swiftness, and the last comers shoot through the dusk with incredible rapidity. These remarks apply with equal truth to all our Swal- lows ; it remains now to briefly mention the characters by which they may be distinguished specifically. The four common species are figured in the frontispiece, which clearly shows most of their diagnostic marks, which are : Tail forked, Barn Swallow ; forehead whit- ish, rump rusty, Cliff Swallow ; a band across the breast, plumage without metallic colors, Bank Swallow ; breast pure white, Tree Swallow. PLATE LXIL PAOB 169. REDSTAKT. Length, 5-40 inches. Adult male, band in wings; base of tail and sides of breast deep salmon; belly white; rest of plumage black. Adult female and young, similar, but salmon replaced by yellow; upper parts grayish brown ; under parts white ; breast yellowish. SWALLOWS. 159 The Barn Swallow is the most generally distributed of our Swallows, its habits of nesting in outbuildings Barn Swallow ma king it at home wherever they offer Cheiidon it a suitable nesting place. It is about erythrogaster. seven inches long ; the upper parts and sides of the breast are steel-blue, the forehead and throat chestnut, the rest of the under parts paler ; the tail deeply forked and marked with white. Its long tail is a most efficient rudder, permitting the abrupt turns which make its flight more erratic than that of any other of our Swallows. It skims low over the fields, or darts through the village streets with a rapidity and indi- rectness which I never witness without astonishment. The Barn Swallow arrives from its winter home in the tropics about April 15 and remains until late in September. Its nest is generally placed on a beam in a barn or other outbuilding, and is composed of mud and grasses lined with feathers. The Cliff or Eave Swallow is less generally distributed than the Barn Swallow. It nests in colonies, placing its Cliff Swallow rows seeds > and in sects, a bird who Lanius boreaiis. in his position and choice of food is Plate LVIII. truly hawklike. Shrikes are solitary, never assembling in flocks or associating with other birds. Their days are days of waiting, varied by a pounce upon some unfortunate field mouse or dash into a flock of un- suspecting Sparrows. But, while they resemble the Hawks in these respects, their manner of capturing their prey dif- fers from that of their larger prototypes. The Shrike has a Hawk's bill but a Sparrow's foot, and, lacking the powerful talons which make so deadly a weapon, he cap- tures his prey with his strong mandibles. Possibly it may be due to his comparatively weak feet that he pursues the singular custom of impaling his prey on some thorn or hanging it from a crotch where he can better dissect it. The Shrike, or Butcher-bird, as he is also called, be- longs to a large family, but, with the exception of his smaller cousin the Loggerhead, he is the only one of the two hundred known species found in America. He nests PLATE LXIV. P AOB 171. MABYLAND YELLOW-THKOAT. Length, 6-30 inches. Adult male, face black, bordered by ashy; back olive-green ; breast yellow ; belly paler. Adult female, similar, but no black on face ; under parts paler. VIREOS. within the Arctic Circle, and in October journeys south- ward, rarely as far as Virginia, and remains in the United States until April or May. The Loggerhead Shrike is common in the Southern States and Mississippi Yalley, whence it has apparently extended eastward through central New York to Ver- mont and Maine. It nests in these States, but southward to Maryland is known only as a rare migrant a unique case in distribution. It differs from the Northern Shrike in being an inch and a quarter smaller, in the absence of the wavy bars on the breast, which is pure white, and in hav- ing jet-black lores and a narrow black line across the fore- head at the base of the bill. Its song is creaky and un- musical, but the song of the Northern Shrike, as de- scribed by Mr. Brewster, is " really pleasing," and " not unlike that of the Thrasher, but more disconnected and less loud and varied." VIREOS. (FAMILY VIREONIDJE.) Yireos are gleaners, and are to be distinguished from other tree-inhabiting, greenish birds of the same size by their habit of carefully exploring the under surface of leaves and various nooks and corners in the bark and foliage, while the more active Warblers are flitting about the terminal twigs and the Flycatchers are swinging out in aerial loops at passing insects. They are highly musical little birds, having songs and call -notes which may be quickly recognized once they are known. The nests and eggs of our four summer- resident species are so much alike that they are to be known only when accompanied by their owners. The White-eyed Vireo inhabits thickets and, as a rule, builds nearer the ground than the arboreal Eed-eyed, Yellow- throated, and Warbling Vireos. The nests are small, 12 164 RED-EYED VIREO. pouchlike affairs of strips of pliable bark, bits of dead wood, plant-fibers, tendrils, fine grasses, etc., firmly inter- woven and suspended from the arms of a forked twig. The eggs are white, with a few black or brownish black spots, chiefly about the larger end. The Yireos are an exclusively American family, and number some fifty species, of which seven reach the Bed-eyed Vireo, northeastern States. Of these, by far Vireo oiivaceus. the most common is the Red-eyed Plate LIX. Yireo. There are few favorable locali- ties in eastern North America where, in the summer, one may not hear the cheerful song of this bird. Still, it is so well protected by the foliage, with which its plumage agrees in color, that to those whose ear is not attuned to the music of birds it is unknown. But listen near some grove of elms or maples, and you will not fail to hear its song a somewhat broken, rambling recitative, which no one has described so well as Wilson Flagg, who calls this bird the Preacher, and interprets its notes as " You see it you know it do you hear me ? do you be- lieve it ? " The Red-eye evidently has an inquiring mind, for he never tires of asking these questions. He not only sings all day, but seems unaffected by the heat of summer, and at midday is often the only bird to be heard. One would imagine that few birds had a more even tem- perament than this calm-voiced singer, but when annoyed he utters a complaining whang a sound which is a good indication that something is wrong in the bird world. The Red-eye winters in the tropics, and reaches us in the spring about May 1, remaining until October 15. A near relative of the Red-eye's is the Warbling Yireo a somewhat smaller bird, with a brown, in place of red eye, and without the black margin above the white eye-line which can be so easily seen in the Red-eye. The Warbling Yireo is the less common of the two, and is LXV. PAGE 172. YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. Length, 7-45 inches. Upper parts olive-green; breast yellow ; belly white ; lores black, bordered by white. VIRBOS. 165 more local, showing a marked fondness for rows of elms a taste which makes it a dweller in towns and villages. Its song bears no resemblance to that Warbling Vireo, Q t ^ e R ec [_ e y e being a continuous. V^reo gtlvus. f . flowing warble, with an alto under- tone, suggestive of the song of the Purple Finch. The Warbling Yireo arrives from its winter home in the tropics about May 5, and remains until late in Sep- tember. Although the Yellow-throated Yireo is least like the Ked-eye in color, it resembles it the most closely in choice Yellow-throated f ^ aimts and m son g- Still j tne Yellow- vireo, throat's song is sung more deliberately Vireo flavifrons. and with longer pauses between the parts, while in tone it is deeper and richer. To my mind he says : " See me ; I'm here ; where are you?" repeating the question in varying forms. Karely he utters a beautiful, mellow trill which suggests the song of the Kuby-crowned Kinglet, and he has also a cacldng, scolding note like that of the White-eye. The Yellow -throat's nest is often a more elaborate struc- ture than those of our other Yireos, being thickly cov- ered with lichens, which add greatly to its beauty. Like the two preceding species, the Yellow-throat winters in the tropics, and reaches the latitude of New York city about May 1. It does not, however, remain as long as its relatives, leaving us about September 15. The White-eyed Yireo is the genius of his family. What the Chat is among Warblers the White-eye is among Yireos a peculiar, eccentric bird of stron g character > vh re g ard mankind with disapproval, and will have none of us. Excellent reasons these why we should court his acquaintance. Unlike our other Yireos, the White-eye lives in the 166 WARBLERS. lower growth; thickets of cat-brier are his favorite haunts. He is therefore nearer our level, and seems to address us more directly than do the birds that call from the tree tops. If you linger near his home he will inquire your business with a vigorous " I say, who are you, eh ? " and if you do not take this hint to move on he will doubtless follow it with a scolding whose intent is unmis- takable. He has a variety of exclamatory calls, and sometimes may be heard softly singing a song composed largely of imitations of the notes of other birds. The White-eye can easily be known from the Red-eye and Warbling Yireos by the narrow white bands across the tips of its wing-coverts. In this respect it resembles the Yellow-throat, from which it is to be distinguished by its smaller size (length 5*25 inches), white iris, and white breast, only the sides of the breast being tinged with yellow. It winters from Florida southward, and reaches us in the spring about May 1, to remain until October. WARBLERS. (FAMILY MNIOTILTID^J.) Warblers may be described as among our most abun- dant, most beautiful, and least-known birds. Of the thirty-five species regularly found in the northeastern States, only three or four are familiar to the casual ob- server. The presence of the others is unsuspected, and when some chance brings one of these exquisite little creatures into our lives, the event is attended by all the excitement of an actual discovery. We never forget our first Warbler. It is because we do not see Warblers unless we *ook for them that they are strangers to so many persons who go to the woods. They are, with some exceptions, small birds of limited vocal powers. They live in the tree tops^ PliATE LXVI. PAGE 174. MOCKINGBIBD. Length, 10-50 inches. Upper parts ashy gray ; wings and tail brownish black and white ; under parts white. BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER. 167 and their lisping notes blend with other woodland voices without attracting our attention. May and September are the months for Warblers. Some species arrive in April, but they are most numer- ous between May 5 and 15, when the woods are thronged with their flitting forms. Less than half of our thirty-five species remain to breed ; the others go to their summer homes in the coniferous forests of the North. These northern birds return in the latter part of August and abound in September. Many of the Warblers seen at this season are immature birds wearing plumages so different from those of the adult birds seen in the spring, that their identity is not suspected, and, in effect, they are new birds to us. To the field ornithologist Warblers are therefore the most difficult as well as the most fascinating birds to study. Long after the Sparrows, Flycatchers, and Yireos have been mastered, there will be unsolved problems among the Warblers. Some rare species will be left to look for it may be a member of the band flitting about actively in the branches above us and in the hope of finding it we eagerly examine bird after bird until our enthusiasm yields to an aching neck. Acquaintance with more familiar birds will doubtless arouse the enthusiasm necessary to a successful pursuit of Black and White Warblers, but in the meanwhile I will Warbler, mention only those species that can be Mniotuta varia. most easily observed. Among them is Plate LX. habit of creeping or climbing over trunk and limb aids in his identification. He is a summer resident, and about April 20 we may expect to hear the thin, wiry see-see- see-see notes which form his song. A month later we may find his nest, placed on the ground at the base of a stump or stone and containing four or five white 168 WARBLERS. eggs speckled with reddish brown, chiefly at the larger end. The Yellow Warbler is also a summer resident, arriv- ing in the spring about April 30 and remaining, with the Black-and-white Warbler, until late Yellow Warbler, ^ September< It has the general ap- JJenaroica cestova. * pearance of being an entirely yellow bird, and is sometimes called " Wild Canary," but it has a much more slender bill than the Canary, and its breast is spotted with reddish brown. Most Warblers are wood- inhabiting birds, but the Yellow Warbler, unlike its rela- tives, prefers lawns, parks, and orchards to woodlands. Its nest, of fine grasses, fibers, and a large amount of cot- tony plant-down, is placed in shrubbery or shade trees. Its eggs are bluish white, thickly marked with cinnamon and olive-brown. The Black-throated Green Warbler nests in pine for- ests from southern New England northward, arriving Bl k throated from the South about May 1 and re- Green Warbler, maining until October. Its nest is Dendroica virens. usually placed in pine trees; its eggs Plate LXI. are w hite ? spotted and speckled with dark brown. The songs of many Warblers are possessed of so little character that the best description conveys no idea of them, but the quaint zee-see, see-ee, zee of the Black- throated Green, which Mr. Burroughs writes v > will be readily recognized. The Myrtle or Yellow-rumped Warbler nests from northern New England northward, and in winter is the Myrtle Warbler on ty Warbler to remain in the North- Dendroica coronata. ern States, being often found as far Plate LXI. north as New York city, when its favorite food of bayberries can be procured. At this season there is little or no black on the breast and the PLATE LXVIL PAGE 175. BBOWN THBASHEB. Length, 11-40 inches. Upper parts bright reddish brown ; under parta white and black; eyes yellow. REDSTART. 1(59 back is grayish brown, but this Warbler may always be known by its four patches of yellow and its characteristic call-note of tchip. The Redstart belongs to the group of fly-catching Warblers, and, as an indication of its manner of feeding, Eedstart ^is ^1 * 8 mucn broader and flatter than SetopMga rutitiiia. is usual in this family. The Redstart is Plate LXIL no go patient and methodic a flycatcher as the birds to whom this name rightly belongs. They eit quietly until some insect comes within reach, and then with unerring aim launch out at it, returning to their perch to devour it at leisure. But the Redstart darts here and there, falls and rises and spins about, catching an insect at every turn and at the same time displaying his bright colors to such advantage that he seems the most beautiful as he is the most animated bird of the woods. As he pirouettes from limb to limb, with drooped wings and spread tail, he sings ser-wee swee, swee-ee, a simple but merry little jingle. The Redstart's bright colors, like some mark of special distinction, are not acquired at once. The young male must pass through a period of probation before he is worthy to wear the orange-red and black. In the meantime he appears first in the costume of the female, and by successive changes reaches the full dignity of Redstart estate at the age of three years. He nests, however, the first year, when his plumage closely re- sembles that of his mate. The nest, of fine strips of bark, plant-down, and other materials, is built in the crotch of a sapling ten to twenty feet from the ground. The eggs are grayish white or bluish white, spotted and blotched, chiefly at the larger end, with cinnamon and olive-brown. They are laid about May 28 four weeks after the bird's arrival from the South. All the Warblers thus far mentioned are tree-inhabit- 170 OVEN-BIRD. ing birds, but the species now to be spoken of pass most of their time in the undergrowth or on the ground. The Oven-bird Oven-bird chooses the latter locality. Seiurus aurocapiiim. He has been well compared by Mr. Plate LXIIL Burroughs to a little Partridge, and if you have enough perseverance to find the author of the sharp cheep with which this somewhat suspicious bird will greet you, you will see a modestly attired little walker daintily picking his way over the leaves and fallen branches, with crest slightly erect, and head nodding at each step. Probably, however, your first acquaintance with the Oven-bird will be made through the medium of his song. There are few bits of woodland where in May and June you can not hear numbers of these birds singing. It is a loud, ringing, crescendo chant, to which Mr. Burroughs's description of "teacher, teacher ', TEACHER, TEACHER, TEACHER " is so applicable that no one would think of describing it in any other way. The bird seems to exert himself to the utmost, and no one hearing this far from musical performance would imagine that he could im- prove upon it. But if some evening during the height of the mating season you will visit the Oven-bird's haunts, you may hear a song whose wildness is startling. It is the flight-song of the Oven-bird, transforming the humble chanter into an inspired musician. Soaring high above the trees, he gives utterance to a rapid, ecstatic warbling so unlike his ordinary song that it is difficult to believe one bird is the author of them both. As an architect the Oven-bird is also distinguished. His unique nest is built on the ground of coarse grasses, weed stalks, leaves, and rootlets, and is roofed over, the entrance being at one side. It thus resembles an old- fashioned Dutch oven, and its shape is the origin of ita builder's name. The Oven-bird arrives from the South PLATE LXVIII. PAGKE 175. HOUSE WHEN. Length, 5*00 inches. Upper parts brown, marked with black and grayish ; under parts grayish white. MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT. 171 about May 1, and its eggs are laid about the 20th of the month. They are white, speckled or spotted with cinna- mon and reddish brown. The Maryland Yellow-throat is an abundant inhabit- ant of thickets and bushy undergrowths, readily iden- Marviand tified by his black mask and yellow Yellow-throat, breast, nervous activity, and character- Geothiypis trichas. istic notes. Some birds must be ap- proached with caution, but nothing save an actual attack upon his home will cause the Yellow- throat to leave its shelter. Hopping from limb to limb, he advances to the border of the thicket, then retreats to its depths, all the time uttering an impatient chock, chit, or pit, and, if forced to fly, he goes only to the next clump of bushes. The Yellow-throat's somewhat explosive song is so easily set to words and so variable that there are many versions of it. It is described as whitititee, whitititee, whitititee ; rapity, rapity, rapity, rap, or witch-e-wee-o, witch-e-wee-o, witch-e-wee-o. Mr. Burroughs says he has heard birds whose notes sounded like the words " Which way, sir ? " and I have heard some who seemed to say " Wait a minute." To this the Yellow-throat sometimes adds a flight song, which is a miniature of the Oven-bird's aerial sere- nade. It is generally added to his usual song, and is most often heard late in the season at evening, when the bird may be seen springing into the air above his bushy retreat. The Yellow-throat arrives from the South about May 1, and remains until the middle of October. Late in May a bulky nest of grasses, strips of bark, and dead leaves, lined with finer materials, is built on or near the ground. The three to five eggs are white, rather thinly speckled with reddish brown. Often an egg of the Cow- YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. bird will be found in the nest, Yellow-throats being one of the birds most frequently chosen by the Cowbird as foster-parents. The Chat is the largest of the Warblers, and so unlike them, or any other birds, in disposition that if classifica- YeUow-breastedCliat, ^ on were b ase d on character, the Chat icteria virens. would surely be placed in a family by Plate LXV. itgelf> T he Q^afs peculiarities are numerous, but are most evident in his song. Many times I have sat, note-book and pencil in hand, trying to express in words the song of a Chat singing in a neigh- boring thicket, but I have never succeeded in putting on paper anything which would convey an adequate idea of the bird's remarkable vocal performances. Of others who have attempted the same task, I think Mr. Bur- roughs comes nearest to interpreting the bird's strange medley. He says : " Now he barks like a puppy, then quacks like a Duck, then rattles like a Kingfisher, then squalls like a fox, then caws like a Crow, then mews like a cat. . . . C-r-r-r-r-r whrr that's it Ghee quack, cluck) yit-yit-yit now hit it tr-r-r-r when caw caw cu^ cut tea-boy who, who mew, mew" You may be pardoned for doubting that a bird can produce so strange a series of noises, but if you will go to the Chat's haunts in thickety openings in the woods, or other bushy places, and let him speak for himself, you will admit that our alphabet can not do him justice. To hear the Chat is one thing, to see him quite another. But he will repay study, and if you will conceal yourself near his home you may see him deliver part of his repertoire while on the wing, with legs dangling, wings and tail flapping, and his whole appearance suggesting that of a bird who has had an unfortunate encounter with a charge of shot. But if the Chat's song is surprising when heard dur- ing the day, imagine the effect it creates at night when PLATE LXIX. PAGE 177. LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN. Length, 5-20 inches. Upper parts brown, black, and white, a white line over eye ; under parts white, sides brownish. CATBIRD. 173 he has the stage to himself, for he is one of our few birds who sing regularly and freely during the night, moonlit nights being most often selected. The Chat is a rather southern bird in its distribution, being found north of Connecticut only locally and rarely. It winters in the tropics, coming to us about May 1 and departing early in September. Its well-made nest of grasses, leaves, and strips of bark is generally placed in the crotch of a sapling within three feet of the ground. Its three to five eggs are white, rather evenly speckled and spotted with reddish brown. THRASHERS, WRENS, ETC. (FAMILY TROGLODYTID^C.) The Eastern representatives of this family are appar- ently too unlike to be classed in the same group, but when all the two hundred members of the family are studied, it is evident that the extremes are connected by intermedi- ate species possessing in a degree the characters of both Wrens and Thrashers. The Catbird belongs to the subfamily Mimvnce, which contains also the Mockingbirds and Thrashers, number- Catbird, ^g some ^ty species, all being re- Oaieoscoptes stricted to North America. The Catbird is one of the most familiar feathered inhabitants of the denser shrubbery about our lawns and gardens. The sexes are alike in color, both being slaty gray, with a black cap and tail, and brick-red under tail-coverts. They arrive from the South about April 29, and remain until October. Their nest is usually placed in thickets, shrubbery, or heavily foliaged trees, and the deep greenish blue eggs are laid the fourth week in May. It is unfortunate that the Catbird's name should have originated in his call-note rather than in his song. The 174: MOCKINGBIRD. former is a petulant, whining, nasal tcha/y^ to me one of the most disagreeable sounds in Nature, and so unlike the bird's song that he seems possessed of a dual person- ality. The Catbird's song, from a musical standpoint, is excelled by that of few of our birds. His voice is full and rich, his execution and phrasing are faultless ; but the effect of his song, sweet and varied as it is, is marred by the singer's too evident consciousness. The Catbird's relative, the Mockingbird, is an abun- dant inhabitant of the southern United States from Yir- Mockingbird, ginia to California, and ranges south- Mimus poiygiottos. ward into Mexico. In the Eastern States it is not common north of south- ern Illinois and Virginia, but in summer it is found in small numbers as far north as Massachusetts, where a few pairs breed each season. It is exceedingly domestic in its habits, and in the South there are few suitable gar- dens, either in the town or country, which are not inhab- ited by a pair of Mockingbirds. The power of mimicry for which this bird is cele- brated has, I think, been unduly exaggerated, and the fact that its usual song contains several notes resembling those of other species doubtless in part accounts for its much overrated ability as a mimic. It is unnecessary, however, for the Mockingbird to borrow the notes of other birds, for his own song places him in the front rank of our songsters. It is delivered with a spirit and animation which add greatly to its attractiveness. The Mocking- bird does not sing between moutnfuls, as do the Yireos, or quietly from a perch, like the Towhee or Thrasher ; he frequently changes his position, hopping from place to place, making short nights, bounding into the air, and displaying the white markings of his wings and tail, as though it were impossible for him to give expression to his emotion through the medium of voice alone. During LXX. PAGES 178, 179. CHICKADEE. Length, 5*25 inches. Crown and throat black; cheeks white ; back gray; belly white, washed with brownish. BROWN CREEPER. Length, 5-65 inches. Upper parts brown, rusty, and white j under parts white. BROWN THRASHER. 175 moonlight nights of the nesting season, Mockingbirds sing all night. They are then less active, and, mounting to some favorite perch, often a chimney top, flood the still air with entrancing melody. Like the Catbird and Mocker, the Brown Thrasher or Brown "Thrush" inhabits thickets and undergrowth. Brown Thrasher, He is > however, a much less domestic Harporhynchus rufus. bird, and prefers brushy pasture lots and Plate LXVII. wayside hedges to lawns or gardens. He arrives from the South the latter part of April, and often remains until late in October. The nest is built about May 15, and is placed on the ground or several feet above it. The eggs are bluish or grayish white, thickly, evenly, and minutely speckled with cinnamon or reddish brown. As a songster I should rank the Thrasher between the Mocker and the Catbird. His song is less varied and animated than the Mocker's, and while his technique may not excel that of the Catbird, his song, to my mind, is much more effective than the performance of that accom- plished musician. Mounting to the topmost limb of a tree, he sings uninterruptedly for several minutes. The notes can be heard for at least a third of a mile, ringing out clear and well defined above the medley of voices that form the chorus of a May morning. The intense vitality which characterizes the life of birds finds its highest expression in the Wrens. Perpet- House Wren ua ^ motion alone describes the activity Troglodytes aedon. of these nervous, excitable little crea- piate LXVIII. tures. Kepose seems out of the ques- tion ; as well expect to catch a weasel asleep as to find a Wren at rest. In his movements, song, and nesting habits our House Wren exhibits the characteristic traits of his family. He is ever hopping, flitting, bobbing, or bowing, pausing 176 HOUSE WREN. only long enough to give voice to his feelings in fidgetty, scolding notes, or an effervescing, musical trill, with the force of which his small body trembles. It is a wonder- ful outburst of song, and the diminutive singer's enthu- siasm and endurance are even more remarkable. The song occupies about three seconds, and I have heard a Wren, in response to a rival, sing at the rate of ten songs a minute for two hours at a time. The House Wren nests in almost any kind of suitable hole or cavity, and will frequently take possession of a bird box, if the House Sparrows have not already set up a claim to the same property. To prevent intrusion from the Sparrows, the entrance to the house should be made not larger than a quarter of a dollar. Whatever be the site the Wrens select, their surplus energy is em- ployed in completely filling it with twigs, half a bushelf ul being sometimes brought with endless pains. The nest proper is composed of dried grasses, and is placed in the center of this mass. Even in egg-laying the exhaustless vitality of Wrens is shown, as many as six or eight eggs being deposited. In color they are uniformly and mi- nutely speckled with pinkish brown. The House Wren arrives from the South late in April and remains until October. Shortly before its departure in the fall a Wren comes from the Winter Wrn, ^^ t ^ at res embles the House Wren Troglodytes h^emal^8. . in appearance, but is smaller and has the under parts pale brown, the breast and belly being finely barred with a darker shade of the same color. This is the Winter Wren, a bird that nests from north- ern New England northward and southward along the crests of the Alleghanies to North Carolina. It remains with us in small numbers throughout the winter, return- ing to its summer home in April. Mr. Burroughs writes of the Winter Wren's song as a " wild, sweet, rhythmical PLATE LXXL PAGES 180, 181. BED-BBEASTED NUTHATCH. Length, 4-60 inches. Male, crown and line through eye black ; back gray ; under parts rusty. Female, similar, but black replaced by gray. WHITE-BKEASTED NUTHATCH. Length, 6*05 inches. Male, crown black ; back gray; face and under partd white. Female, similar, but crown slaty. WKENS. cadence that holds you entranced," but while with us the bird's only note is an impatient chimp, chimp, suggest- ing the Song Sparrow's call-note. The Carolina Wren is a more southern bird than the House Wren. It is of only local distribution north of Carolina Wren, southern New Jersey, and is rarely Tkryothorua found north of the vicinity of ]STew ludovidanm. y ork ciij ^ w ^ ere j t ap p e ars to be in- creasing in numbers and is found throughout the year. This Wren is half an inch longer and decidedly heavier than the House Wren ; its upper parts are bright cinna- mon, its under parts washed with the same color, and a conspicuous white line passes from the bill over the eye. The Carolina Wren is an exceedingly musical bird, and its loud whistled calls are among the most character- istic bird notes in the South. They are numerous and varied, the most common resembling the syllables whee- udel, whee-udel, whee-udel, and tea-kettle, tea-settle, tea- Settle. The haunts of most marsh-inhabiting birds are as sharply defined as the limits of their ranges. The Long- billed Marsh Wren is not known in Lonff-DiJ.led Marsh Wren, * ne East noi *th of Massachusetts, but I dstothorus paiustris. would as soon expect to find one of Plate LXIX. these birds in Greenland as out of a marsh. They arrive from the South early in May and remain until October, living in marshes where cat-tails grow, to which they may attach their bulky, globular nests of reeds and grasses. With the superabundant vigor of Wrens they build more nests than they can possibly occupy, and many will be examined before the five to six dark brown eggs are found. The Marsh Wren is quite as active and irrepressible as the other members of his family. His call is the cus- 178 BROWN CREEPER. tomary scolding cack; his song, a bubbling, trickling tinkle that can not be called musical, but to my mind is indescribably attractive. It is often sung in the air, and in marshes where Wrens are abundant bird after bird may be seen springing a few feet above the reeds, sing- ing his song, and then dropping back again. CREEPERS. (FAMILY CERTHIIDJE.) Of the twelve known members of this family, the Brown Creeper is the only one inhabiting the New Brown Cree er "World. It is a northern bird, breed- Ctrthiafamiiiaris ing at sea level only from Maine north- americana. ward, but extending southward in the Alleghanies to North Carolina. Sev- eral western races are found in the Rocky Mountain region and Sierra Madres. Our eastern bird migrates southward late in September, and from that date until April it may be found from Massachusetts to Florida. The Creeper, like a Woodpecker, never climbs head downward, but, using his stiff, pointed tail-feathers (see Fig. 3 1) as a prop, winds rapidly up the trunks of trees in his apparently never-ending search for insects' eggs and larvae hidden in crevices in the bark. If the Wrens are the most active birds, the Creeper is the most dili- gent. Except when it was stopping to secure some tid- bit, I can not remember seeing a Creeper resting. He usually begins at the base of a tree and climbs in a seri- ous, intent way for a certain distance, and then, without a moment's pause, drops down to the bottom of the next tree and continues his search. The Creeper's only notes while with us are a thin, fine squeak ; but Mr. Brewster tells us that during the nesting season he has an exquisitely tender song of four notes. PLATE LXXII. PAGES 181, 182. GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. Length, 4-05 inches. Male, crown orange, yellow, and black ; back olive-green ; under parts whitish. Female, similar, but crown without orange. BUBY-CBOWNED KINGLET. Length, 440 inches. Adult male, crown-patch ruby ; back olive-green ; under parts whitish. Adult female and young, similar, but no crown- patch. CHICKADEE. 179 TITMICE AND NUTHATCHES. (FAMILY PARIDJE.) Comparing the Titmice with the Nuthatches, the former may be described us short-billed birds with long tails who do not creep, the latter as long-billed birds with short tails who do creep. The two groups are, in fact, quite distinct, and by some sjstematists are placed in separate families. The Titmice number some seventy-five species, four of which are found in eastern North America. The Chickadee commonest and most generally distrib- Parus atricapiiius. uted is the Black-capped Chickadee, Plate LXX. w hi cn i s found from Labrador to Mary- land and in the Alleghanies southward to North Carolina. Farther south it is replaced by the closely allied Carolina Chickadee. Throughout the greater part of its range the Chickadee is found at all seasons, but it is less common in the middle and southern New England States in summer than in win- ter, and is most numerous during its migration in October. It is with winter that these merry little black and white midgets are generally associated. Their taraeness, quaint notes, and friendly ways make them unusually com- panionable birds; one need not lack for society when Chickadees are to be found. Many of their notes are especially conversational in character, and in addition to the familiar chickadee call, they have a high, sweet, plaintive two- or three-noted whistle. The Chickadee nests about the middle of May, select- ing some suitable cavity or making one for himself in a decayed trunk or limb and lining it with moss, plant- down, and feathers. The eggs, five to eight in number, are white, spotted and speckled, chiefly at the larger end, with cinnamon or reddish brown. 13 180 WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. The Tufted Titmouse is a more southern bird than the Chickadee and is rarely found north of northern New Jersey, where, however, it remains Tufted Titmouse, througllout the ear> j t ig gix inch Parus bicolor. . * in length, gray above, whitish below,, with a black forehead, reddish brown sides, and a con- spicuous crest. Its usual call is a whistled peto, peto, peto, which it will utter for hours at a time. It has also a de-de-de-de call, suggesting the Chickadee's well-known notes, but louder and more nasal. With no especial structure other than slightly enlarged toe nails, the Nuthatches still differ markedly from other White-breasted birds in the ease with which they run Nuthatch, U P or down tree trunks. The tail is Sitta caroiinensis. short and square and is not used in climbing. The bill is rather slender, but proves an effective instrument in removing insects* eggs and larvae from crevices in the bark and even in excavating a nesting hole in some decayed limb. Several species also use it to crack or " hatch " nuts after they have wedged them in a convenient crevice. Of the three species of Nuthatches found in eastern North America the White -breasted is the most common and generally distributed, being a permanent resident from Florida to northern New England. Like many resident birds, it nests early, the five to eight eggs being depos- ited about April 20. They are white, thickly and evenly spotted and speckled with reddish brown and lavender. This Nuthatch's usual call-note is a loud yank, yank, while its song is a singular, tenor hah-hah-hah- hah-hah. The Red -breasted Nuthatch is a more northern bird than its larger, white-breasted cousin. At sea level it nests from Maine northward, but in the higher parts of PLATE LXXIII. PAGE 183, VEERY. Length, 7-50 inches. Upper parts, wings, and tail uniform light cinna- mon; breast buffy, light marked with cinnamon; belly white; sides grayish. GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. 181 the Alleghanies it breeds as far southward as North Caro- lina. It comes to us from the north early in Septem- ber, and in the winter may be found in Bed-breasted J Nuthatch varying numbers from Massachusetts to Sitta canadensis. the Gulf States. Its call-note is Plate LXXL higher, thinner, and more drawled than the vigorous yank, yank of the White- breasted Nuthatch, and suggests the sound produced by a penny trumpet. KINGLETS, GNATCATCHERS, ETC. (FAMILY SYLVIID^.) Of the three subfamilies included in this family we have representatives in eastern North America of only two the two Kinglets of the subfamily Regu- lince and the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher of the subfamily PolioptilincB. The Gnatcatcher is a southern bird, oc- curring only locally or as a straggler north of Maryland. The Kinglets are both more northern in their distri- bution. The Golden-crowned Kinglet nests from the north- ern tier of States northward and southward along the Golden-crowned crests of tlie . Alleghanies to North Car- Kinglet, olina. In its autumnal migration it Eeguius satrapa. reaches the vicinity of New York city Plate Lxxii. about g e p tem ]3 er 2 0, and during the winter may be found in varying numbers from Maine to Florida. The Golden-crown flits about the terminal twigs in its search for insect food and reminds one somewhat of the smaller, tree-inhabiting Warblers in habits. Its call is a fine ti, ti, one of the highest and least noticeable notes uttered by birds. Its song, which is rarely heard except in its nesting range, is described by Mr. Brewster as begin- ning with a succession of five or six fine shrill, high-pitched, 182 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. somewhat faltering notes, and ending with a short, rapid, rather explosive warble. The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a more northern bird in summer and a more southern bird in winter than the Golden -crown, rarely being found at the latter season north of South Carolina. Throughout the Middle States it oc- Bub crowned Curs as an ^undant spring and fall mi- Kinglet, grant, passing northward from April 10 Beguius calendula, to May 10 and southward between Sep- tember 20 and October 20. The Ruby- crown resembles the Golden -crown in habits, but is more active. Females and young males lack the ruby crown- patch, but their white eye-ring, impatient, wrenlike little note, and manner of nervously twitching their wings are characteristic. Taking the small size of the bird into consideration, the Ruby-crown's song is one of the most marvelous vo- cal performances among birds. As Dr. Coues remarks, the sound-producing organ is not larger than a pinhead, and the muscles that move it are almost microscopic shreds of flesh ; still, the bird's song is not only surpass- ingly sweet, varied, and sustained, but is possessed of suf- ficient volume to be heard at a distance of two hundred yards. Fortunately, the Ruby-crown sings both on its spring and fall migrations. THRUSHES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC. (FAMILY TURDIDJE.) On the basis of certain details of structure Thrushes are generally assigned highest rank in the class Aves. Without pausing to discuss the value of the characters on which this classification is made, there can be no question that from an aesthetic standpoint the Thrushes possess in a greater degree than any other birds those qualifications which make the ideal bird. There are many birds with PLATE LXXIV. PAGE 184. WOOD THRUSH. Length, 8-30 inches. Upper parts bright, rusty cinnamon, brightest on back and crown ; under parts white everywhere, except center of belly, with large, rounded black spots. VEEEY. 183 brighter plumage, more striking voices, and more inter- esting habits, but there are none whose bearing is more dis- tinguished, whose songs are more spiritual. The brilliant Hummingbirds and Tanagers excite our admiration, but the gentle, retiring Thrushes appeal to our higher emo- tions ; their music gives voice to our noblest aspirations. Five of the true Thrushes of the genus Turdus are found in eastern North America. Three of them may be mentioned here the Veery, "Wood Thrush, and Her- mit Thrush a peerless trio of songsters. The Veery's mysterious voice vibrates through the air in pulsating circles of song, like the strains of an ^Eolian harp. The "Wood Thrush's notes are ringing and bell-like ; he sounds the matin and vesper chimes of day, while the Hermit's hymn echoes througli the woods like the swelling tones of an organ in some vast cathedral. But it is impossible to so describe these songs that their charm will be understood. Fortunately, all three birds are abundant, and a brief account of their haunts and habits will enable any one to find them. The Yeery, or "Wilson's Thrush, winters in Central America, and nests from northern Illinois and northern Veery New Jersey northward to Manitoba and Turdus fuscescens. Newfoundland and southward along the Plate LXXIII. Alleghanies to North Carolina. It comes to us in the spring, about May 1, and remains until Sep- tember 15. Near the middle of May it begins to build its nest, placing it on or near the ground. Its eggs are greenish blue, and resemble in color those of the Wood Thrush, but are slightly smaller. The Yeery's favorite haunts are low, damp woods with an abundant undergrowth. It is a more retiring bird than the Wood Thrush, and is rarely seen far from tracts of woodland. It is to be distinguished from our other Thrushes by the uniform cinnamon color of its 184: WOOD THRUSH. tipper parts, faintly spotted breast, and particularly by its notes. The Yeery's characteristic calls are a clearly whistled whee-o or whee-you, the first note the higher, and a some- what softer too-whee or teweu, in which the first note is the lower. Its song is one of the most mysterious and thrilling sounds to be heard in the woods. Elsewhere I have described it as u a weird, ringing monotone of blended alto and soprano tones. ... It has neither break nor pause, and seems to emanate from no one place. If you can imagine the syllables vee-r-r-hu [or vee-ry] repeated eight or nine times around a series of intertwining circles, the description may enable you to recognize the Yeery's song." The Wood Thrush is a more southern bird than the Yeery, breeding from as far south as Florida, north- Wood Thrush, war< * to southern Vermont and Minne- Turd'us musteiinus. sota. It winters in Central America Plate LXXIV. an( j reacnes us i n the spring, about April 30, and remains until October 1. Its nest is built about the middle of May, and is generally placed in a sapling some eight feet from the ground. The eggs are greenish blue. The Wood Thrush is not such a recluse as the Yeery. He is, it is true, a wood lover, and shares with the Yeery his secluded haunts, but he seems equally at home in maples and elms about our houses, or even in the more quiet village streets. He is therefore more often heard than his mysterious relative, and, as a voice, is familiar to many who do not know the singer's name. The call -notes of the Wood Thrush are a liquid quirt and sharp pit-pit. The latter is an alarm note, which, when the bird fears for the safety of its young, is uttered with much increased force and rapidity. It can be closely imitated by striking two large pebbles together. PLATE LXXV. PAGE 185. HEKMIT THRUSH. Length, 7 15 inches. Upper parts and wings dark cinnamon-brown; tail bright reddish brown ; under parts white ; breast spotted with black ; sides washed with brownish ; belly white. HERMIT THRUSH. 185 The song of the Wood Thrush is wholly unlike that of the Yeery. It opens with the flutelike notes, and is sung disconnectedly, being broken by pauses and by low notes, audible only Come to me, when one is near the singer. The Hermit Thrush is a more northern bird than either the Yeery or the Wood Thrush. It rarely nests at sea level south of Yermont or northern Hermit Th.ru.8li. Turdus aonaiasMa Michigan, but in the higher portions of Massachusetts and on the crests of the Catskills and Alleghanies in Pennsyl- vania, it is also found breeding. It winters from south- ern Illinois and New Jersey southward to the Gulf, it being the only member of its genus to inhabit the east- ern United States at that season. Its spring migrations occur between April 5 and May 10, and in the fall we see it from October 15 to November 25, while occasion- ally it may winter. During its migrations the Hermit Thrush usually fre- quents woodlands, where it may often be seen on 1 or near the ground. Like the Yeery, it is a ground-nester, and its eggs, though slightly lighter in color, resemble those of the Yeery and Wood Thrush in being plain, bluish green. When alighting, the Hermit has a characteristic habit of gently raising and lowering its tail, and at the same time uttering a low chuck. Sometimes it sings during the winter, in Florida, and also while migrating ; but if you would hear this inspired songster at his best, you must visit him in his summer home. The Hermit's song resembles that of the Wood Thrush in form, but it is more tender and serene. O spheral, spheral! O holy, holy ! Mr. Burroughs writes the its opening notes, and there is something about the words which seems to O express the spirit of heavenly peace with which the bird's Bong is imbued. 186 KOBIN. It seems a long step from these gentle, refined Thrushes to their comparatively prosaic cousin, the famil- iar Robin. But the Robin has his quite as effective as the Hermit's hymn in June. During the summer Robins are distributed through- out North America from the Gulf States and southern end of the Mexican tableland, northward to Labrador and Alaska. In the winter they may be found in numbers from Virginia southward, small flocks and single birds being occasionally met with as far north as Massachu- setts. Robins are among our earliest migrants, appear- ing in the vicinity of New York city between February 20 and March 1. Nesting is begun about April 15, the mud-lined nest and greenish blue eggs being too well known to require description. Two, or even three broods may be raised. In June, the young of the first brood with some adult males resort each night to a chosen roost, often frequented by many thousands of birds. The fall migration begins in September, but the birds are with us in roving bands until December. About the time that we first hear the Robin's ringing welcome to spring we may listen for the Bluebird's more gentle greeting. Doubtless the bird Bluebird, h b with m all ^intej. f or Blue- S^al^as^ak*. ' birds winter in small numbers as far north as southern Connecticut, often living near groves of cedars, which offer them both food and shelter. In the Southern States they are far more abundant at this season, gathering in flocks containing hundreds of indi- viduals. The Bluebird is the first of our smaller birds to begin housekeeping, and early in April it may be seen pro- specting about the site of kst year's nest in a bird box or BLUEBIRD. 187 hollow tree, and the bluish white eggs will probably be laid before the middle of the month. No bird's song is more associated with the return of spring than the Bluebird's ; nor is there a bird's note more expressive of the passing season than the Bluebird's autumn call of far-away, far-away. INDEX. Acanthis linaria, 146. Accipiter cooperi, 107. velox, 107. Actitis macularia, 96. ^Egialitis semipalmata, 99. vocifera, 109. Agelaius phoeniceus, 132. Aggressive coloration, 44. Aigrette plumes, 38. Alaudidse, 126. Albatross, 18, 19. Alcedinidae, 113. Ampelidas, 161. Ampelis cedrorum, 161. Anatidae, 89. Androdon, 32. Anhingas, 32. Anseres, 89. Antrostomus vociferus, 119. Archseopteryx, 3, 4, 18. Ardea herodias, 91. vireacens, 92. Ardeidse, 90. Asio accipitrinus, 109. wilsonianus, 110. Auk, Great, 20. Razor-billed, 20. Auks, 20, 21, 28, 30. Avocet, 32, 33. Avoeettula, 31. Bill, the, as a hand, 30. as a musical instrument, 30. as a weapon, 31. sexual adornment of, 30. uses of, 80. Birds, altricial, 69. ancestors of, 2. beauty of, 9. bill of, 30. biography of, 73. characters of, 2. colors of, 35. distribution of, 4. economic value of, 5. eggs of, 68. evolution of, 14. feet of, 27. field key to, 75. flightless, 19. grace of, 10. how to identify, 71. mating of, 65. mental development of, 10 migration of, 48. musical powers of, 10. nests of, 65. number of species of, 1. place in Nature of, 1. praecocial, 69. relation to man of, 5. scientific value of, 5. songs of, 11, 62. tail of, 25. topography of, 74. voice of, 62. wings of, 17. young of, 70. Bittern, American, 93. Blackbird, Crow, 138. Red winged, 132. Blackbirds, 55, 130. 189 190 INDEX. Bluebird, 49, 186. Bobolink, 16, 36, 37, 38, 54, 55, 60, 134. Bob-white, 36, 100. Bonasa umbellus, 101. Botaurus lentiginosus, 93. Bubonidse, 108. Bull-bat, 118. Bunting, Bay- winged, 140. Black-throated, 155. Indigo, 63, 152. Snow, 147. Butcher-bird, 162. Buteo borealis, 106. lineatus, 104. Butter-bird, 135. Buzzard, Turkey, 104 Buzzards, 8. Call-notes, significance of, 63. Canaries, 39. Caprimulgidse, 117. Cardinal, 153. Cardinalis cardinalis, 153. Carpodacus purpureus, 149. Cassique, 23. Cassowary, 19. Catbird, 69, 173. Cathartes aura, 103. Cathartidfle, 103. Certhia familiaris americana, 178. Certhiidae, 178. Ceryle alcyon, 114. f^haetura pelagica, 119. Chambergo, 135. Charadriidse, 98. f!hat, Yellow-breasted, 172. Chebec, 125. ^helidon erythrogaster, 159 Chewink, 151. Chickadee, 7, 8, 70, 179. Carolina, 179. Chippy, 142. Red-capped, 146. Winter, 146. Chondestes grammacus, 154. Chordeiles virgicianus. 118. Circus hudsonius, 10t>. istothorus palustria, 177. Clamatores, 122. Clape, 116. Clivicola riparia, 159. Coccyges, 112. Coccyzus americanus, 112. erythrophthalmus, 113. Colaptes auratus, 116. Colinus virginianus, 100. Color and age, 36. and climate, 39. and food, 39. and haunt and habit, 41. and sex, 45. Colors of birds, 35. Columbse, 102. Columbidae, 102. Contopus virens, 126. Coot, 27, 28, 94. Cormorants, 69. Corvidse, 128. Corvus americanus, 128. Cowbird, 137. Creeper, Brown, 16, 25, 178. Creepers, 6, 15, 16, 178. Crossbill, American, 147. Crow, American, 128. Crow-duck, 94. Cuckoo, Black-billed, 113. Yellow-billed, 7, 112. Cuculidse, 112. Cyanocitta cristata, 130. Deceptive coloration, 44. Dendrocolaptidaa, 32. Dendroica aestiva, 168. coronata, 168. virens, 168. Dickcissel, 155. Directive colors, 44. Diving Birds, 84. Docimastes, 81. Dolichonyx oryzivorus, 134. Dove, Carolina, 102. Mourning, 102. Dryobates pubescens medianus, 115. villosus, 115. Duck, Black, 8. INDEX. 191 Duck, Broadbill, 90. Bufflehead, 90. Canvasback, 90. Eider, 90. Old Squaw, 90. Kedhead, 90. Ruddy, 90. Scaup, 90. Wood, 89. Ducks, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 30, 36, 67. Eagle, Bald, 108. Eggs of birds, 68. Egret, White, 91. Empidonax minimus, 125. Emu, 19, 69, 70. Ereunetes pusillus, 98. Eutoxeres, 31. Falco sparverius, 106. Falconidse, 104. Feet, the, as hands, 29. as weapons, 29. effects of use and disuse of, 27. seasonal change in structure of, ! uses of, 27. Field-glass, 72. Finch, Grass, 140. Lark, 154. Purple, 39, 149. Finches, 42, 138. Firebird, 131. Fish Hawk, 66. Flamingo, 28, 39. Flicker, 68, 116. Flycatcher, Arizona Crested, 124. Crested, 68, 123. Great Crested, 123. Least, 125. Flycatchers, 6, 27, 44, 121. Frigate Birds, 5, 19. Fringillidse, 139. Fulica americana, 94. Galeoscoptes carolinensis, 173. Gallinse, 100. Gallinago delicata, 97. Gallinules, 17, 20, 22. Gannets, 32. Geothlypis trichas, 171. Glacial period, 59. Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray, 181. Goldfinch, 148. Goose, Canada, 94. Grackle, Bronzed, 133. Purple, 133. Grebe, Pied-billed, 84. Grebes, 18, 20, 21, 22, 25, 27, 84. Grosbeak, Cardinal, 36. Pine, 148. Rose-breasted, 36, 150. Grouse, Buffed, 29, 101. Grouse, 18, 19, 23, 27, 29, 36, 41, 62. Gull, Herring, 86. Gulls, 9, 67. Haliaeetus leucocephalus, 108. Hangnest, 131. Harporhynchus rufus, 175. Hawk, Chicken, 104, 105. Cooper's, 8, 104, 107. Fish, 14, 29, 107. Hen, 104. Marsh, 64,106. Ked-shouldered, 104. Red-tailed, 106. Sharp-shinned, 8, 104, 107. Sparrow, 106. Hawks, 7, 8, 29, 36, 44, 55, 65. Hell-diver, 84. Herodiones, 90. Heron, Black-crowned Night, 92. Great Blue, 91. Little Green, 92. Snowy, 91. Herons, 28. High-hole, 68, 70, 116. Hirundinidas, 156. Hoatzin, 17. Huia-bird, 33. Humming-bird, Avocet, 31 Ruby-throated, 120. Sickle-billed, 31. Siphon-billed, 31. Small-billed, 31. Tooth-billed, 32. 192 INDEX. Hummingbirds, 5, 6, 14, 18, 23, 25, 81, 42, 67, 69, 70, 120. Ibis, Scarlet, 39. Icteria virens, 172. Icteridse, 130. Icterus galbula, 131. spurius, 132. Jacana, 24, 28. Jay, Blue, 129. Junco, 145. Junco hyemalis, 145. Juncos, 41, 44. Key to common birds, 75. Killdeer, 99. Kingbird, 122. Kingfisher, Belted, 114. Kinglet, Golden-crowned, 181. Ruby-crowned, 182. Lanlidte, 162. Lanius boreal is, 162. Lark, Horned, 41, 55, 126. Prairie Horned, 127. Laridse, 86. Larus argentatus smithsonianus, 86. Lighthouses, 56, 57. Limicolse, 32, 95. Longipennes, 86. Loon, 85. Loxia curvirostra minor, 147. Macrochires, 117. Mallard, 89. Man-o'-war Bird, 19. Marsh Hen, 94. Martin, Purple, 157, 161. Mating of birds, 65. Meadowlark, 27, 44, 136. Megascops asio, 110. Melanerpes erythrocephalus, 116. Melospiza fasciata, 138. georgiana, 139. Mergansers, 32, 89. Merula migratoria, 186, Micropodid, U9t Microrhynchus, 31. Migration of birds, 48. cause of, 59. eftects of changes of climate o, 59. extent of, 49. highways, 55, 60. manner of, 54. nocturnal, 55, 56, 57. origin of, 58. times of, 49. Mimus polyglottos, 174. Mniotilta varia, 167. Mniotiltidse, 166. Mockingbird, 174. Molothrus ater, 137. Molt, the, 37. Momotus subrufescens, 25. Motmot, 25. Mud-hen, 94. Myiarchus crinitus, 123. Natural selection, 14, 15, 65. Nesting season, 64. Nest of birds, 65. Nighthawk, 6, 23, 118. Notornis, 22. Nuthatch, Eed-breasted, 180. White-breasted, 181. Nuthatches, 6, 8. Nycticorax nycticorax naevius, 92, Opera-glass, 72. Opisthocomus cristatus, 17. Oriole, Baltimore, 131. Orchard, 37, 131, 132. Orioles, 42, 44, 55, 130. Ortolan, 135. Oscines, 122. Osprey, American, 107. Ostinops, 23. Ostrich, 5, 18, 19, 27, 29, 69, 70. Otocoris alpestris, 126. Oven-bird, 170. Owl, Barn, 8. Barred, 111. Great Horned, 110. Long-eared, 110. Screech, 41, 110. INDEX. 193 Owl, Short-eared, 109. Snowy, 44. Owls, 7, 8, 30, 65, 108. Ox-eye, 98. Paludicolae, 93. Pandion haliaetus carolinensis, 107. Paridse, 179. Parrots, 5, 20, 29, 31, 39, 40. Partridge, 19, 67, 100, 101. Parus atricapillus, 179. bicolor, 180. Passer domesticus, 141. Passerella iliaca, 144. Passeres, 121. Passerina cyanea, 152. Peabody-bird, 143. Peacock, 27. Penguins, 5, 18, 21. Peeps, 98. Permanent residents, denned, 53. Petrel, Leach's, 88. Wilson's, 88. Petrochelidon lunifrons, 159. Pewee, Wood, 63, 126. Phalarope, 27, 28, 70. Pheasant, 101. Philohela minor, 95. Phoebe, 124. Pici, 114. Picidae, 114. Pigeon, Carrier, 61. Wild, 102. Pigeons, 20. Pinicola enucleator, 148. Pintail, 89. Pipilo erythrophthalmus, 151. Piquebois jaune, 116. Piranga erythromelas, 156. Plectrophenax nivalis, 147. Plover, Black- breasted, 99. Golden, 99. Killdeer, 99. Piping, 99. Wilson's, 99. Ring-necked, 99. Semipalmated, 99. Plovers, 41, 49, 98. Podilymbus podiceps, 84. Podicipidae, 84. Poocaetes gramineus, 141. Porzana Carolina, 94. Procellariidse, 88. Progne subis, 161. Protective coloration, 42. colors, 41. Ptarmigans, 44. Pygopodes, 84. Quail, 100. Quails, 18, 19, 27, 41, 67. Quiscalus quiscula, 133. Rail, Clapper, 94. King, 94. Little Black, 94. Yellow, 94. Virginia, 94. Kails, 18, 20, 22, 27, 93. Rallidsa, 93. Eallus crepitans, 94. Raptores, 114. Recognition colors, 44. Redpoll, 146. Redstart, 169. Reedbird, 134. Regulus calendula, 182. satrapa, 181. Rhea, 19. Ricebird, 135. Robin, 7, 12, 36, 49, 55, 63, 18& Golden, 131. Salmon, 58. Sandpiper, Semipalmated, 96. Spoonbill, 83. Spotted, 69, 96. Sauropsida, 1. Sayornis phoebe, 124. Scolopacidae, 95. Scoters, 90. Seals, 58. Seiurus aurocapillus, 170. Setophaga ruticilla, 169. Sexual characters, secondary, 46. selection, 46. 194 INDEX. Shelldrakes, 89. Shrike, Loggerhead, 112. Northern, 162. Sialia sialis, 186. Signaling colors, 44. Sitta canadensis, 181. carolinensis, 180. Snipe, Wilson's, 97. Snipes, 28, 36, 41, 43, 49, 67. Snowbird, Slate-colored, 145. White, 147. Snowflake, 38, 147. Songs of birds, 62. Sora, 94. Sparrow, Chipping, 142. English, 141. Field, 140. Fox, 144. House, 141. Song, 40, 138 Swamp, 139. Tree, 146. Vesper, 141. White-crowned, 144. White-throated, 143. Sparrows, 6, 18, 41, 43, 49, 67, 138. Spinus tristis, 148. Spiza americana, 155. Spizella pusilla, 140. monticola, 146. socialis, 142. Spoonbill, Roseate, 33. Squawk, 92. Stake Driver, 93. Sterna hirundo, 87. Sturnella magna, 136. Summer residents, defined, 58. Sylviidae, 181. Syrniurn nebulosum, 111. Swallow, Bank, 157, 159. Barn, 157, 158, 159. Cliff, 157, 158, 159. Eave, 159. Bough- winged, 160. Tree, 157, 158, 160. Swallows, 6, 27, 55, 156. 8wan, Trumpeter, 90. Whistling, 90. Swift, Chimney, 119. Swifts, 6, 15, 27, 55, 117. Tachycineta bicolor, 160. Tail, the, expression of emotion with 26. relation between form of, and flight, 25. sexual characters in, 25. uses of, 25. Tanager, Scarlet, 36, 37, 156. Tanagers, 42, 44, 155. Tanagridae, 155. Teal, Blue-winged, 89. Green-winged, 89. Telescope, 56, 57. Tern, Common, 87. Tetraonidse, 100. Thrasher, Brown, 175. Thrush, Brown, 175. Hermit, 185. Wilson's, 183. Wood, 12, 184. Thrushes, 6, 55, 67, 182. Thryothorus ludovicianus, 177. Titmouse, Tufted, 180. Towhee, 44, 151. Transient visitants, defined, 54. Trochilidse, 119. Trochilus colubris, 120. Troglodytes ae'don, 175. hiemalis, 176. Troglodytidae, 178. Tubinares, 88. Turdidae, 182. Turdus aonolaschkse pallasii, 186, fuscescens, 183. mustelinus, 184. Turkey, 27. Tyrannidae, 121. Tyrannus tyrannus, 122. Urinator imber, 85. Urinatoridse, 85. Veery, 63, 183. Vireo flavifrons, 166, gilvus, 165. INDEX. 195 Vireo noveboracensis, 165. olivaceus, 164. Vireo, Ked-eyed, 164. Warbling, 165. White-eyed, 165. Yellow-throated, 165. Vireos, 6, 55, 163. Vireonidae, 163. Vulture, Black, 103. Turkey, 103. Vultures, 8. Warbler, Black and White, 167. Black-throated Green, 168. Myrtle, 168. Yellow, 168. Warblers, 6, 42, 55, 166. VVaxwing, Cedar, 161. Whip-poor-will, 6, 119. Widgeon, 89. Wing, the, as a musical instrument, 23. as a weapon, 24. effects of use and disuse of, 18, 20 expression of emotion with, 24. molt of feathers of, 21. sexual characters in, 23. Wing, uses of, 17. Winter residents, defined, 53. Woodcock, 23, 32, 43, 95. Woodhewers, 15, 25, 32. Woodpecker, Downy, 16, 115. Hairy, 115. Pileated, 14. Bed-headed, 116. Woodpeckers, 5, 6, 8, 14, 15, 16, 25, 80 64, 67, 69, 114. Wren, Carolina, 177. House, 175. Long-billed Marsh, 177. Winter, 176. Wrens, 55, 173. Wrybill, 33. Yellowbird, 148. Yellow-hammer, 116. Yellow-throat, Maryland, 171. Young birds, 70. Yucker, 116. Zamelodia ludoviciana, 150. Zenaidura macroura, 102. Zonotrichia albicollis, 143. Zonotrichia leucophrys, 144. 14 PLATE XCI. TYPES OF BIEDS' EGGS. 1. Oven-Bird (ovate ; spotted and wreathed). 2. House Wren (ovate ; minutely speckled). 3. Wood Pewee (ovate ; blotched and weathed). 4. Hummingbird (elliptical; white, unmarked). 5. Crested Fly- catcher (elliptical-ovate ; streaked). 6. Sparrow Hawk (spherical ; washed, spotted and blotched). 7. Cowbird (ovate; evenly speckled and spotted). 8. Cedar Waxwing (elongate-ovate; spotted). 9. Nighthawk (elliptical ; mottled and marbled). 10. Bobolink (ovate ; spotted and blotched). 11. Semipalinated Sandpiper (pyriform ; spotted). 12. Purple Grackle (ovate ; scrawled). APPENDIX. FOE THE USE OF TEACIIEKS. PREFACE TO TEACHERS' APPENDIX. WHILE the time available for zoological studies in our schools is too limited to permit of more than the treatment in outline of most of the classes of ani- mals, the fact is now recognized that birds possess unusual claims to our attention. They are practi- cally the only ones of the higher animals with which we may come in contact daily. Our large mammals have either been exterminated or driven from the vicinity of our homes, while most of the smaller species are nocturnal, and, therefore, rarely seen. Reptiles and batrachians are difficult to observe and are not popular; while fishes, from the nature of their haunts, can be studied only under certain con- ditions. Birds, however, are everywhere: in field and wood and sky, in our orchards and gardens; and some of them are with us at all seasons. But birds' merits do not consist merely in their abundance. In beauty of plumage, grace of mo- tion, and vocal ability they are without rivals; in their migration, mating, and nesting habits they not only display unusual intelligence, but exhibit human traits of character that create within us-<* feeling of kinship with them, and thus increase our interest in and love for them. Furthermore, as with increasing knowledge we begin to realize their economic value, we are more than ever im- iii IV PREFACE. pressed with the importance of becoming acquainted with them. Still, it will be obviously impossible for the stu- dent to cover the whole field of ornithology, and the question arises, to what phase of the subject he should give special attention. There are teachers who believe that classification is the principal object of natural history study, and the aim and end of their instruction is to teach the pupil the names of Orders and Families, and the characters on which they are based. So far as birds are concerned, the plan is excellent as a preliminary step, but to my mind it is of infinitely greater im- portance to be able to recognize a Wood Thrush or a Yeery than to define the Lamellirostral Grallatores. In this book structure and classification have, therefore, been subordinated to matter which will be of practical assistance to the student in identify- ing the birds about his home, and in teaching him to appreciate their economic, aesthetic, and scientific value. If he lives in the country, this information may be of service to him daily ; and this, it seems to me, is a far more profitable kind of ornithology than that which treats only of " Orders," and " Families," and "leading types " which he will probably never see outside of a museum or a zoological garden. Acting on this belief, I have written of the living, rather than of the dead bird, and no attempt, there- fore, has been made to describe the anatomy of birds, but, in preference, the questions of economics, aesthetics, form and habit, color, migration, song, nesting, etc., have been dwelt on with the ob- PREFACE. V ject of both cultivating and directing the student's powers of observation. In order, however, to give him some idea of the bird's place in Nature, the sub- jects of relationships and classification have been touched on briefly. Then follow a series of objec- tive, seasonal lessons which are the main feature of the book. The advantages of studying birds under seasonal groupings are two-fold. First, by elimi- nating species which are absent, it greatly simplifies the question of identification. Second, it is more real. If the student can be told that a certain spe- cies will doubtless arrive from the south the same day on which he is reading about it, his interest in the subject will be at once increased ; it becomes a matter of contemporary history. Furthermore, by studying the birds with the seasons, we learn in the beginning to properly associate them with certain accompanying natural phenomena, and their com- ings and goings become significant events in our calendar. As we become familiar with birds, and learn to recognize them, the question of identity will no longer remain a bar to our better acquaintance, and our interest in them will deepen. We shall begin to inquire into the questions of form and habit, color, migration, song, nesting, etc. ; and as a guide to observations of this character, there are given a series of lessons treating of the philosophic or sub- jective side of bird-study, the wide scope of which will be readily appreciated. F. M. 0. AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER I. THE BIRD : ITS PLACE IN NATURE AND RELATION TO MAN. The Bird's Place in Nature (see Chapter I, pages 1-5). How many species of birds are known ? In what class are they placed ? * Name the classes of higher animals ; that is, mammals, fishes, and reptiles. In what respect does the class birds differ from all the other higher classes of ani- mals ? t What place does the class birds occupy in the scale of life ? To what class are they most nearly related ? Are birds the only higher animals that fly? Are they the only ones that lay eggs ? The only ones that incubate ? What is the temperature of birds ? Of mammals ? Of reptiles ? Have any living birds teeth ? What is the chief peculiarity of birds ? From what kind of ancestors are birds believed to have descended ? On what evidence is this belief based ? Describe the Archaeopteryx. Where was it found ? In what geologic age did it live ? Do birds vary much in structure ? In habit ? Mention some varying habits of birds. Economic Relations of Birds to Man (see Chapter I, pages 5-9). In what ways are birds useful to man ? What loss are insects estimated to inflict on our agricultural in- terests annually ? What birds catch insects on the wing ? In the foliage ? On the tree trunks ? What kinds feed on terrestrial insects? Describe Mr. Forbush's observations * The teacher should define the meaning of " Class " : as, for ex- ample, the class Mammalia, the class Reptilia, etc. f For example, such extreme representatives of the class Aves as the Hummingbird and Ostrich, resemble each other in more respects than do, for instance, the Bat and the Elephant in the class Mammalia. 2 QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER I. on the food of the Chickadee. What was found in the stomach of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo ? Of a Robin ? Are most Hawks and Owls beneficial birds ? What 'forms the largest part of the food of the Red-shouldered Hawk ? What was found in the castings * of the Barn Owl ? What State offered a reward for Hawks and Owls ? What loss is estimated to have resulted ? Why are seed-eating birds of economic value ? What birds are useful as scavengers ? What was the result of killing birds on the Yucatan Coast ? Esthetic Relations of Birds to Man (see Chapter I, pages 10-13). After learning to know birds, what aesthetic characters shall we find that they possess ? Mention several birds of beautiful plumage. Several of unusually graceful flight. Several musical birds. What human traits of character are exhibited by birds ? What pleasure is to be derived from acquaintance with birds ? Is their study re- stricted to any special season ? In what manner will birds appeal to us most strongly ? Does familiarity with their notes increase the pleasure we receive from birds ? Is this the result of association ? In what manner ? * Undigested pellets of hair, feathers, and bones, which are ejected at the mouth by Owls and some other birds. OBJECTIVE SEASONAL LESSONS. Identification (see Chapter YII). As a prelimi nary step to exercises in identification the student should learn to name the parts of a bird's plumage as they are given in Figure 25. The teacher should then select a plate of a land-bird, and placing it at a distance of from twenty to thirty feet from the pupil, have him write a one-minute description of it. This description should include the bird's approxi- mate length,* color of crown, back, tail, wings, throat, breast, and abdomen. It is well to have a blank prepared and ready to fill in with the descriptions of the parts named. To this may be added any particular characters of form (e. g. 9 crests, long tail, etc.) or color (e.